tihravy  of  the  ^theological  ^tminavy 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 

The  Estate  of 
Harold  McAfee  Robinson,  D.D. 

BV  4847  .H6  1879 
Houghton,  Louise  Seymour, 

1838-1920. 
The  Sabbath  month 


THE 


Sabbath  Month: 


DEVOTIONAL  THOUGHTS 


FOR 


YOTjnsro-  nynoTHiEi^s. 


BY 

LOUISE  SEYMOUE  HOUGHTON. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PEESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLTCATIOX, 

No.  1634:  CHESTNUT  STREET. 


Eutered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  IST'J,  by 

THE  TRUSTEES  OF  THE 

TRESBYTERIAN  l?OARD   OF   PUBLICATION, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Wasliiiigton. 


Wkstc-ott  a  Thomsov, 
Stereotypers  and  J'Jlniroti/jters,  I'hiiiidd. 


PREFACE. 


The  weeks  of  retirement  which  are  ap- 
lioiiited  to  those  who  have  just  become  mothers 
are,  to  many,  a  period  of  irksome  restraint, 
where  hours  of  pain  aUernate  with  hours  of 
weariness  and  of  anxious  "  thought-taking '' 
about  duties  from  which  God's  providence  has 
sechided  them.     The  writer,  a  joyful  mother 
of  many  children,  has  been  graciously  led  to 
find  in  this  period  a  time  in  which  the  soul, 
defrauded  of  her  rights  by  many  jealous  cares, 
has  here  enjoyed  her  Sabbaths.    In  this  wilder- 
ness the  Lord  has  spoken  comfortably  unto 
her ;  in  it  her  heart  has  sung  as  in  the  days 
of  her  youth ;  and  from  it  she  has  come  up 
leaning    upon    her    Beloved   with    renewed 
strength  for  the  duties  of  daily  life. 


4  PREFACE. 

Tliis  tliouglit  she  offers  as  a  cup  of  cold 
water,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  to  any  expect- 
ant mother  whose  spirit  faints  at  the  prospect 
of  the  wearisome  nights  and  days  of  darkness 
which  are  appointed  her.  Tlie  ark  of  the 
covenant  of  the  Lord  goes  before  you,  beloved, 
to  "search  out  a  resting-place."  "In  the  wil- 
derness he  will  plead  with  you  face  to  face. 
His  presence  will  make  the  outgoings  of  the 
morning  and  of  the  evening  to  rejoice."  So 
shall  these  weary  weeks  prove  to  you  "a  time 
of  refreshing,"  a  blessed  "Sabbath  of  rest 
to  the  Lord." 

"Like  a  pearl  left  on  the  shore 
When  the  ocean's  rage  is  o'er, 
So,  from  out  tlie  storm  and  strife 
Almost  ovcrwlielming  life, 
My  dear  waif,  a  little  form, 
Fragile,  tender,  soft  and  warm, 
In  my  happy  arms  found  rest, 
Nestled  to  my  loving  breast. 

"Oft  :ind  (ift  upon  my  hed 
lias  my  heart  looked  up,  :uid  said, 
'Oh,  my  (Jo<l,  to  tiiee  1  eall ; 
Thou,  who  only  knowest  all — 


PREFACE. 

All  the  anguish  of  the  night, 
All  the  soft,  serene  delight 
With  which  mothers  wake  to  find 
Day  before  them,  night  behind  ; — 
Knowest,  too,  how  brief  a  part 
In  the  lifetime  of  one  heart 
Are  the  moments  in  which  press 
All  this  flood  of  blessedness ; 
How,  through  all  the  ages  past. 
And  as  long  as  time  shall  last. 
Not  an  hour  but,  as  it  flies. 
Holds  such  pain-bought  ecstasies ; 
Yet  unmoved  canst  bear  the  sight 
In  thy  silent,  heavenly  height. 
Never,  never,  did  my  heart 
Feel  as  now,  how  great  thou  art ! ' 

"And  yet  once  that  One  unseen 
Left  his  hiding-place  serene; 
Once,  half  shone  on  human  sight 
The  Divine  and  Infinite — 
Not  in  passionless  repose. 
But  as  sharer  of  our  woes. 

'Born  of  woman;' — since  that  hour 
Has  her  curse  lost  half  its  power; 
Since  he  came  its  sphere  Avithin, 
Sorrow  has  joy's  servant  been. 
Now,  beneath  its  sheltering  Aving, 
Lo  our  SAveetest  blessings  spring- 
All  the  loves  and  hopes  Avhicli  start 
From  the  overflowing  heart; 


PREFACE. 

All  familiar  joys  and  ties 
Gilded  as  with  parting  eyes  ; 
All  the  silent  strength  of  faith 
i4taiiding  face  to  face  with  death ; 
All  the  morning's  sweet  delight 
Dawning  on  the  stormy  night, 
And  the  glad  return  once  more 
To  the  half-relinquished  shore, 
Doubly  beautiful  to  view 
AVith  its  old  joys  and  its  new. 
Oh,  if  such  GotVs  curses  prove, 
What  must  be  his  full-orbed  love  ? 

"  Ah,  thou  heaven-sweet,  precious  thing ! 
Thou  did'st  need  such  heralding. 
Lest,  too  satisfied,  my  heart 
Dare  forget  from  whence  thou  art — 
Dare  forget  thy  royal  rights 
In  my  fostering  delights. 
And  how  tenderly  Gotl  laid 
His  dear  hand  on  me,  and  said, 

*  I  have  noble  work  for  thee ; 
Come  aside,  and  learn  of  me  I' 
So  I  left  tlie  din  and  crowd 
And  the  voices  gay  and  loud, 
And,  like  Mary,  did  repair, 
Hasting   to  the  hills  for  prayer; 
And  in  sweet  retirement  then, 
Near  to  God   and  far  from  men. 
On  my  waiting  soul  <lid  ope 
All  (he  glory  of  its  hop*,-, 


PEE  FACE. 

And  my  heart,  once  light  and  free, 
Learned  the  Mother's  mystery — • 
Learned  its  holy  cross  to  bear 
Of  sorest  sorrow  and  dear  care; 
While  each  day,  a  heavenly  voice 
Made  me  tremble  and  rejoice : 
'Lo,  the  Father  sends  to  thee 
A  soul  from  out  eternity; 
Come  thou  to  tlie  border; — there 
Its  angel  yields  it  to  thy  care!' 

"Now,  returned  to  all  life's  charms 
With  the  treasure  in  my  arms, 
Oh,  my  God,  from  this  full  heart 
Let  the  vision  not  depart ! " 

{From  Putnamh  Monthly.) 


The  Sabbath  Month. 


THE  PEEPARATION-DAY. 

"  A  woman,  when  she  is  in  travail,  hath  sorrow,  because  her 
hour  is  come;  but  as  soon  as  she  is  delivered  of  the  child, 
she  remembereth  no  more  the  anguish,  for  joy  that  a  man  is 
born  into  the  world." — John  xvi.  21. 

TTOW  wonderful  it  is  that  even  in  this 
-^^  mysterious  trial,  this  union  of  sorrow  and 
joy,  of  sharpest  pangs  and  holiest  bliss — which 
can  never  be  comprehended  but  by  one  who 
has  experienced  it — that  even  here  our  Lord 
can  sympathize  with  us  most  perfectly  !  Who 
else  could  so  describe  the  sorrow  and  the 
happiness,  the  shrinking  fear  and  the  glad 
rejoicing,  but  He  who  has  travailed  in  birth 
for  souls,  and  whose  joy  over  each  newly- 
born  spirit  is  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory  ? 


10  THE  SABBATH  MONTH 

It  is  wonderful  to  contemplate  tliat  as  tlie 
hour  of  his  passion  was  approaching  his 
words  were  so  much  of  joy.  "  If  ye  loved 
me,"  he  says,  "ye  would  rejoice ;^^  "These 
things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  your 
joij  might  he  full;  "  "Ye  shall  be  sorrowful, 
but  your  sorrow  shall  be  turned  into  joy,  and 
your  joy  no  man  taketh  from  you.''^  For  the 
sake  of  "  the  joy  set  before  him "  he  en- 
dured the  cross — not  merely  his  own  joy, 
thoudi  he  looked  forward  to  the  time  when 
he  should  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and 
should  be  satisfied,  but  he  foresaw  also  the 
joy  of  his  redeemed  ones,  and  this  gave  him 
strength  to  endure. 

Since  he  has  himself  likened  the  pangs 
and  sorrows  of  his  hour  to  the  hour  of  suf- 
fering which  now  approaches  us,  there  can 
be  no  irreverence  in  our  meekly  apj^ropri- 
ating  the  comfort  which  springs  from  liis 
words.  AVe  too  may  be  sustained  ]jy  the 
joy  set  before  us.  AVe  may  take  hold  of  liis 
strength,  which  hasbeen  made  perfect  tliruugh 


THE  FBEPABATION-DAY.  H 

suffering ;  nay  more,  by  faith  we  may  now 
be  admitted  into  the  fellowship  of  his  suffer- 
ings, and  gain  a  new,  mysterious  insight  into 
the  depths  of  his  love  for  us. 

Patience  worketh  experience,  and  exjye- 
rience  hope.  Our  experience  of  his  mercy, 
multiplied  beyond  measure,  may  well  teach 
us  to  rejoice  now  in  the  hope  of  deliverance. 
In  this  ordeal  especially  through  which  we 
are  now  to  pass  does  not  experience  tell  us 
to  be  oi  good  cheer  f  How  many,  many  joy- 
ful mothers  of  children  are  all  around  us! 
How  few,  how  very  few  in  comparison,  have 
laid  down  their  lives  in  this  conflict!  "I 
will  deliver  thee,  and  thou  shalt  glorify  me," 
is  especially  the  language  of  God  at  this  time. 
And  have  we  not,  for  our  support,  a  promise 
which  our  infinitely  tender  Father,  foreseeing 
our  faint-heartedness,  has  sent  to  us  as  an 
especial  message  of  grace  ? — **  Notwithstand- 
ing, she  shall  he  saved  in  child-bearing,  if 
they  continue  in  faith  and  charity  and  holi- 
ness, with  sobriety.''     She  shall  be  saved! 


12  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

Let  US  lay  hold  on  this  promise  with  a  firm 
grasp.  The  conditions  need  not  frighten  us, 
for  God,  who  searcheth  the  heart,  knows 
that,  though  perhaps  in  the  midst  of  unbelief, 
we  do  believe.  And  our  faith  is  counted  to 
us  for  rigliteousness.  And  he  givetli  more 
grace. 

Let  us,  then,  boldly  say,  "  The  Lord  is  my 
helper."  AVe  may  both  hope  and  quietly 
w^ait  for  the  salvation  of  the  Lord.  Our 
times  are  in  his  hands.  God  is  our  refuge 
and  strength,  a  very  present  help  in  trouble. 
I^et  us  look,  then,  rather  at  the  joy  set  before 
us  than  at  the  sorrow  which  will  precede  it. 
Weeping  may  endure  for  a  night,  but  joy 
coincth  in  the  morning. 


THE  APPROACHING  HOUR  13 


THE   APPROACHING  HOUK. 

LORD,  I  am  oppressed,  undertake  for 
me.  My  flesh  and  my  heart  fail,  but 
God  is  the  strength  of  my  heart,  and  my  poi'- 
tion  for  ever.  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful, 
even  unto  death.  O  my  Father,  if  this  cup 
may  not  pass  away  from  me,  except  I  drink 
it,  thy  will  be  done.  Have  mercy  upon  me, 
O  Lord,  for  I  am  in  trouble.  Oh  keep  my 
soul  and  deliver  me ;  let  me  not  be  ashamed, 
for  I  put  my  trust  in-  thee.  O  my  God,  my 
soul  is  cast  down  within  me;  all  thy  waves 
and  thy  billows  are  gone  over  me.  Be 
pleased,  O  Lord,  to  deliver  me.  Be  not  thou 
far  from  me,  O  Lord.  O  my  strength,  haste 
thee  to  help  me.'' 

*'  Fear  not,  for  I  am  with  thee ;  be  not  dis- 
mayed, for  I  am  thy  God,  I  will  strengthen 
thee ;  yea,  I  will  help  thee ;  yea,  I  will  uphold 
thee  with  the  right  hand  of  my  rigliteousness. 
When  thou  passest  through  the  waters  I  will 


14  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

be  with  thee,  and  through  the  rivers,  they 
shall  not  overflow  tliee ;  when  thou  walkest 
through  the  fire  thou  shalt  not  be  burned, 
neither  shall  the  flame  kindle  upon  thee. 
For  I,  the  Lord,  will  hold  thy  right  hand. 
Baying  unto  thee.  Fear  not,  I  will  helj)  thee. 

"  The  eternal  God  is  thy  refuge,  and  un- 
derneath are  the  everlasting  arms.  As  one 
whom  his  mother  comforteth,  so  will  I  com- 
fort yoLi.  I  will  strengthen  thee  upon  tlie 
bed  of  languishing ;  I  will  make  all  thy  bed 
in  thy  sickness.  Be  strong  and  of  good  cour- 
age ;  fear  not,  nor  be  afraid,  for  the  Lord  thy 
God,  he  it  is  that  doth  go  with  thee ;  he 
will  not  fidl  thee  nor  forsake  thee." 

"  Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley 
of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil ; 
fur  even  there  shall  thy  hand  lead  me,  and 
tliy  right  hand  uphold  me.  The  Lord  is 
my  light  and  my  salvation;  whom  shall  I 
fear?  The  Lord  is  the  strength  of  my  lile; 
of  whom  shall  I  be  afraid?  I  souglit  the 
liord,  and  he    heard  me   and   delivered  me 


FIRST  DAY.  15 

from  all  my  fears.  Thou  clrewedst  near  me 
in  the  day  that  I  called  upon  thee;  thou 
saidst,  Fear  not.  Thou  art  my  hiding-place  ; 
thou  slialt  preserve  me  from  trouble;  thou 
shalt  compass  me  about  with  songs  of  deliv- 
erance. Oh,  how  great  is  thy  goodness,  which 
thou  hast  laid  up  for  them  that  fear  thee ! 
I  shall  not  die,  but  live  and  declare  the  works 
of  the  Lord." 


FIKST  DAY. 

"  Notwithstanding,  the  Lord  stood  with  me,  and  strengthened 
me."— 2  Tim.  iv.  17. 

'Y  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord,  and  my 
spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour. 
What  shall  I  render  unto  God  for  all  his  ben- 
efits toward  me  ?  For  the  sorrows  of  death 
compassed  me,  and  the  pains  of  hell  got  hold 
upon  me.  But  thou  hast  delivered  my  soul 
from  death  and  mine  eyes  from  tears.  In 
the  day  of  my  calamity  the  I^ord  was  my 


16  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

stay.  Thou  hast  made  me  exceeding  glad 
with  thy  countenance.  For  this  child  I 
prayed,  and  the  Lord  hath  given  me  my 
petition  which  I  asked  of  him.  Thy  vows 
are  upon  me,  O  Lord ;  I  will  render  praises 
unto  thee. 

"Because  thy  loving-kindness  is  better 
than  life,  my  lips  shall  praise  thee.  Lord,  I 
have  hoped  in  thee,  and  hope  maketh  not 
ashamed,  because  the  love  of  God  is  shed 
abroad  in  my  heart." 

Grant,  Lord  Jesus,  that  my  love  to  thee 
may  abound  yet  more  and  more ;  may  I  feel 
in  my  inmost  heart  that  I  am  not  my  own, 
having  been  bought  by  the  sufferings  of  the 
Son  of  God,  and  mav  I  endeavor  throuo'h 
my  whole  life  to  glorify  thee  in  my  body 
and  my  sj)irit,  which  are  thine ! 


SECOND  DAY.  17 


SECOND    DAY. 

"And  whoso  shall  receive  one  such  little  child  in  my  name, 
receiveth  me." — Matt,  xviii.  5. 

T\EAR  Lord,  can  this  be  true?  Dost 
thou  indeed  so  identify  thyself  with 
the  very  least  of  all  thy  ransomed  ones  that 
whoso  shall  receive  one  of  them  with  glad 
welcome  for  the  sake  of  the  Lord  who  bouo-ht 
it,  receiveth  thee  to  be  a  guest  who  shall  go 
no  more  out?  Oh,  then,  dear  Saviour,  so 
sanctify  the  love  which  I  now  have  for  my 
baby,  so  purify  and  elevate  it,  that  I  shall 
see  in  the  little  one  in  my  arms  not  merely 
the  child  of  my  own  love  and  suffering,  but 
thy  child,  ransomed  with  suffering  infinitely 
greater  than  my  own.  So  this  beloved  one 
becomes  a  thousand-fold  more  dear  for  thy 
sake  while  I  minister  unto  it  as  unto  thee. 
Come,  then.  Lord  Jesus;  be  it  unto  me 
according  to    thy  word.      Abide  with  me; 

make  of  my  heart  thy  temple.     Fulfill  unto 

3 


.18  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

me  tliy  promise;  beliold,  tlie  tabernacle  of 
God  is  with  men,  and  he  will  dwell  with 
them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people,  and  God 
himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their  God. 
Amen.     Even  so  come,  Lord  Jesus  ! 


H 


THIRD   DAY. 

"Be  gliid  witli  her,  all  ye  that  love  her."— IsA.  Ixiv.  10. 

OW  sweet  a  joy  is  that  in  w^hich  we  all 


partake  in  welcoming  the  little  new- 
comer into  the  world !  How  glad  we  are 
with  the  dear  mother !  How  every  tender 
word  of  salutation  comes  rushing  to  our  lips! 
"Hail,  thou  that  art  highly  favored,  the  Lord 
is  with  thee ;  blessed  art  thou  among  women ! " 
"  Peace  be  to  thee,  our  friends  salute  thee !  " 
"  The  children  of  thine  elect  sister  greet  thee ! " 
"  All  the  saints  salute  you,  chiefly  they  which 
are  of  Ciesar's  household  " — of  the  family 
of  our  great  King. 

We  do  not  wonder,  now,  that  when  of  old 


THIRD  DAY.  19 

he  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth,  the 
habitation  of  the  children  whom  he  was  to 
create,  the  morning  stars  sang  together  and 
all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy.  We 
realize  something  of  the  intense  sympathy 
without  which  even  the  infinite  joy  of  the 
heavenly  Father  was  not  complete.  And 
when  he  bringeth  the  First-Begotten  into 
tiie  world  he  saith,  And  let  all  the  angels  of 
God  worship  him.  Then  it  was  that  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  appeared  on  earth,  and  the 
skies  were  filled  with  a  multitude  of  the 
heavenly  host,  praising  God  and  saying,  Glory 
to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace, 
good- will  to  men. 

"  Unto  us  a  son  is  born,  unto  us  a  child  is 
given."  Oh,  this  mystery  of  babyhood  !  who 
can  fathom  it  ?  "  His  name  shall  be  called 
wonderful ;  "  not  the  divine  Infant  alone,  but 
every  baby  born  into  the  world.  In  what 
respect  is  the  little  one  other  than  wonderful, 
not  only  to  the  mother,  but  to  us  all,  who 
love  her?     How  wonderful  to  us  are  the  tiny 


20  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

hands,  tlie  lialf-fonned  features,  the  sleejiings 
and   Avakhigs  of  the  mysterious  little  one! 
AVith  what  absorbing  interest  have  we  watched 
every  phase  of  its  three-day  life,  laying  up 
every  indication  of  development  in  our  hearts, 
saying,  ''What  manner  of  child  shall  this  be?" 
He  of  whom  the  whole  family  in  heaven 
and  on  earth  is  named  has  given  us,  wdtli 
this  little   one,  another  link  in   the  golden 
chain  of  fellowship — a  new  bond   of  union 
with  each  other  and  with  the  family  above. 
The   Lord   hath   done  great  things    for    us, 
whereof  we  are  glad.     The  voice  of  rejoicing 
and  salvation  is  in  our  tabernacles,  and  with 
full  hearts   we  i)ray,  "The   blessing  of  the 
Ijord  be  upon  you ;  we  bless  you  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord." 


FOURTH  DAY. 


rOUKTH    DAY. 


21 


"He  shall  feed  his  flock  like  a  sliepherd:  he  shall  gather  the 
lambs  with  his  arm,  and  carry  them  in  his  bosom,  and  shall 
gently  lead  those  that  are  with  young."  (Margin,  give  suck.)^ 
IsA.  xl.  11. 

THE  margin  shows  tliat  this  verse  brings 
an  especial  word  of  comfort  to  the 
mothers  of  infant  children — to  those  who  by 
reason  of  the  peculiar  demands  upon  their 
strength,  the  new  and  tender  anxieties  and 
cares  which  devolve  upon  them,  are  in  es- 
pecial need  of  "  gentle  leading."  Already, 
perhaps,  after  our  great  joy  at  deliverance 
from  suffering  and  from  the  fear  of  death,  our 
glad  acceptance  of  the  new-born  gift,  already 
has  come  the  weariness  and  faintness  of  new 
responsibility ;  our  souls  are  discouraged  be- 
cause of  the  way;  our  weak  hands  hang 
down  and  our  feeble  knees  refuse  to  support 
us.  "  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things?"  is 
our  anxious  cry.  And  the  answer  comes 
speedily — yes,  even  before  we  have  called — 


22  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

*'  Behold,  the  Lord  our  God  will  come  with 
a  strong  liandr  He  shall  gather  our  little 
lambs  with  his  arm  aud  carry  them  in  his 
bosom,  and  he  will  gently  lead  the  weary, 
fainting  mother. 

Oh  how  surely,  how  unfailingly,  he  comes 
to  our  help! — not  one  of  us  is  forgotten  be- 
fore God.  "Behold  I,  even  I,  will  both 
search  my  sheep  and  seek  them  out."  He 
knoweth  our  frame ;  he  rememberetli  that 
we  are  dust.  "  I  will  feed  my  flock,  and  I 
will  cause  them  to  lie  down,'^  saitli  the  Lord. 
Yes,  to  lie  down  in  green  j^astures  and  be- 
side the  still  waters.  Oh,  what  a  restoring 
of  tlie  soul  is  this ! 

So,  no^VJ  we  may  rest  in  his  love.  And 
when  he  calls  us  to  resume  our  journey,  he 
leads  us  again  by  the  hand.  For  he  calleth 
his  own  sheep  by  name,  and  leadcth  them 
out;  and  when  lie  putteth  forth  his  own 
sheep  into  contact  with  the  world,  when  he 
))ids  them  leave  the  secure  fold  where,  for  a 
season,  he  has  shut  them  up  from  harm,  he 


FIFTH  DAY,  23 

goeth  before  them,  '^o  evil  can  reach  tlieiii 
till  it  has  overcome  him ;  and  of  that  there 
is  no  fear.  *'  Be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  over- 
come the  workl.'' 

Dear  Saviour,  we  will  not  fear.  When 
thou  wilt  lead  us  out  we  will  follow  thee,  for 
we  know  thy  voice.  Our  lambs  to  thy  ten- 
der arms,  ourselves  to  thy  gracious  leading, 
we  now  gladly  surrender,  reposing  peacefully 
upon  thy  word:  "The  Lord  knoweth  them 
that  are  his." 


FIFTH    DAY, 

"  Take  this  child  away  and  nurse  it  for  me,  and  I  will  give 
thee  thy  wages." — Ex.  ii.  9. 

rrillE  princess  of  Egypt,  having  redeemed 
the  little  chikl  from  the  decree  of  death 
impending  over  him,  returned  him  to  his 
own  mother,  saying,  "  Take  this  child  away 
and  nurse  it  for  me."  How  striking  a  par- 
allel we  find  in  this  to  God's  dealings  with 
us  and  our  chikhen  ! 


24  THE  SABBATH  M  OS  TIL 

Tliey,  too,  are  doomed  to  death.  We  are 
powerless  to  save  tliem ;  our  only  hope  is  to 
cast  them  entirely  upon  his  mercy,  praying 
him  to  adopt  them  into  his  own  family,  and 
so  redeem  them  from  the  power  of  sin  and 
death.  And  he  hears  our  prayer,  and  an- 
swers it — not  by  taking  them  at  once  to  be 
with  him,  and  so  removing  them  from  all 
danger.  That  would,  indeed,  be  surprising 
mercy.  But  in  his  infinite  love  he  has  better 
things  in  store  for  us  than  this ;  he  accepts 
the  trust  our  weakness  and  almost  despairing 
faith  imposes  on  him ;  he  enters  into  cove- 
nant with  us  for  our  children,  and  then,  in 
tender  mercy  to  our  longing  mother-hearts, 
he  recommits  each  child  to  our  hands,  saying, 
"  Nurse  it  for  mer 

May  I  never  neglect  this  solemn  trust! 
May  I  never  forget  that  it  is  for  God  that  I 
am  nursing  my  little  one !  May  this  child  be 
an  offering  wholly  dedicnted  unto  God  !  IMay 
"Holiness  to  the  Lord"  be  inscribed  upon 
everything  which  has  reference  to  it,  and  no 


FIFTH  DAY.  25 

taint  of  self-seeking  mar  this  service,  no 
lower  aim  be  mine  than  to  keep  it  unspotted 
from  the  worki ! 

*^And  I  will  give  thee  thy  wages."  It 
had  been  bliss  sufficient  for  that  Hebrew 
mother  to  receive  her  baby  into  her  arms, 
with  permission  to  nurse  and  tend  it  for  the 
gracious  princess  who  had  saved  its  life.  But 
she  is,  beyond  this,  to  receive  wages  for  her 
labor  of  love.  So  with  us ;  even  in  this  life, 
for  all  our  prayers  and  tears,  our  struggles 
with  Satan — who  desires  to  have  our  precious 
ones — and  with  the  sin  which  so  nearly  has 
dominion  over  them, — for  all  this  we  shall 
receive  "  manifold  more  "  even  in  this  pres- 
ent life,  and  in  the  world  to  come,  for  us 
and  for  them,  life  everlasting. 


26  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

SIXTH    DAY. 

"  And  all  thj  children  shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord." — IsA. 
liv.  13. 

T)LESSED  is  the  mau  whom  thou  teach  est, 
O  Lord !  and  thrice  blessed  the  children 
whom  thou  dost  in  infancy  adopt  into  thy 
school !  I  ask  not  with  Salome,  "  Grant  that 
my  children  may  sit  at  thy  right  hand  and 
at  thy  left  in  thy  kingdom,"  but,  dear  Lord, 
I  pray.  Take  my  baby  into  thine  arms  and 
bless  it,  and  so  give  it  a  knowledge  of 
thyself. 

And  yet,  like  Salome,  I  know  not  what  I 
ask.  Can  my  child  drink  of  the  cup  which 
thine  infinite  wisdom  ordains  for  it?  I  know 
not  what  pain  and  sorrow,  what  suffering, 
want  or  woe,  thy  love  may  provide  for  this 
precious  little  one,  whom  I  would  fain  defend 
from  all  ill.  How  shall  I  bear  to  see  the 
evil  that  may  come  upon  my  beloved  in 
answer  to  my  prayer?  Only  by  thy  grace, 
O  God.      Yet  keep  my  lamb  irom   sinning 


SIXTH  DAY,  27 

against  tliee,  Lord,  and  I  will  leave  all  else 
to  thee.  Mould  it  in  tliine  image,  and  then, 
come  sorrow,  come  suffering,  come  death,  all 
shall  be  well  with  the  child. 

"  And  great  shall  be  the  peace  of  thy 
children."  Lord,  what  a  rock  of  strength 
is  thy  word  of  promise !  Great  peace  have 
they  who  love  thy  law ;  yea,  great  peace  even 
in  sorrow  and  under  the  chastening  of  the 
Lord.  Have  I  not  known  this  in  my  own 
life,  and  shall  I  not  believe  that  my  child 
shall  find  it  true?  I  will  be  anxious  no 
more,  dear  Saviour.  Into  thy  loving  hands 
do  I  commit  this  child  of  my  sorrows  and 
my  joyful  hopes.  Keep  my  little  one  in  the 
secret  of  thy  presence.  I  will  both  lay  me 
down  in  peace  and  sleep,  for  in  the  day  when 
I  cried  thou  answeredst  me  and  strength- 
enedst  me  with  strength  in  my  soul. 


28  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

SEVENTH   DAY. 

"Even  the  very  hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered." — 
Luke  xii.  7. 

rilPIE  little  head,  with  its  scanty  adornment 
^  of  silken  hair,  lies  cradled  on  my  arm. 
I  pass  my  hand  over  tlie  shining  down, 
smoothing  and  parting  it;  the  soft,  satin 
touch  thrills  to  my  very  heart ;  I  count  each 
bright  thread  a  priceless  treasure,  while  my 
Saviour,  never  so  near  to  me  as  in  these  holy 
days,  draws  closer  and  whisi^ers,  "  Even  tlie 
very  hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered." 
**  You  who  love  your  baby  so,"  he  says  to 
me,  "  do  you  ncnv  believe  ?  Can  you  now 
realize  something  of  my  tender  care  of  my 
*  little  ones'?  He  that  toucheth  you  toucheth 
the  apple  of  my  eye.  Do  you  see  a  beauty 
in  your  baby,  hidden,  you  know,  from  others, 
but  revealed  none  the  less  evidently  to  you  ? 
Behold,  iliou  art  fair,  my  love,  bchohl  tliou 
art  fair;  tliou  liast  doves'  eyes  witliin  thy 
locks.     Can  you  now  understand  my  j)leasure 


SEVENTH  DAY.  29 

in  that  utter  helplessness  which  is  your  baby's 
dearest  claim  upon  your  love  and  your  own 
strongest  tie  to  mine  ?  Thou  canst  not  make 
one  hair  white  or  black ;  what  can  you  do  to 
shield  yourself  from  harm?  yet  am  not  I 
with  thee  ?  There  shall  not  a  hair  of  your 
head  j^erish.  Not  in  infancy  alone,  but  even 
to  your  old  age,  I  am  He,  and  even  to  hoar 
hairs  I  will  carry  you.  I  have  made  and  I 
will  bear;  even  I  will  carry  and  will  deliver 
you." 

O  God,  thou  hast  taught  me  from  my 
youth ;  and  hitherto  have  I  declared  thy 
wondrous  works ;  now,  also,  unto  old  age  and 
gray  hairs  (margin),  O  God,  forsake  me  not. 
The  Lord  hath  been  mindful  of  us ;  he  will 
bless  us.  Yes,  thou  Lord,  art  a  shield  for 
me,  my  glory  and  the  lifter  up  of  my  head. 
Thou  anointest  my  head  with  oil ;  my  cup 
runneth  over;  surely,  goodness  and  mercy 
shall  follow  me  all  the  days  of  my  life,  and 
I  will  dw^ll  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  for 
ever.     For  this  God  is  our  God  for  ever  and 


30  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

ever;  he  Avill  be  our  guide  eveu  unto  deatli. 
Therefore,  the  redeemed  of  tlie  Lord  shall 
return,  and  come  with  singing  unto  Zion  ; 
and  everlasting  joy  shall  be  upon  their  head; 
they  shall  obtain  gladness  and  joy,  and  sor- 
row and  mourning  shall  flee  away. 


EIGHTH   DAY. 

"Then  Manoali  entreated  tlie  Lord,  and  said,  O  my  Lord, 
let  the  man  of  God  which  tliou  didst  send  come  again  unto 
us,  and  teach  us  what  we  sliall  do  unto  the  child  that  shall 
be  born." — Judg.  xiii.  8. 

ITTE  have  the  aid  of  angels  in  our  work. 
*  '  Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits,  sent 
forth  to  minister  to  them  who  shall  be  Jieirs 
of  salvation?  Our  children  are  heirs,  for 
tlie  children  of  promise  are  counted  for  the 
seed,  and  in  heaven  their  angels  do  always 
behold  the  Father's  face. 

In  their  ignorance  as  to  the  right  manner 
of  training  the  i)romi8ed  child,  ]\ranoali 
and   his  wife  prayed   that  the  angel    might 


EIGIITR  DAY.  31 

come  again  and  teach  them.  And  He  who 
ever  hath  compassion  on  the  ignorant  sent 
the  heavenly  messenger  for  their  instruction. 

In  this  history  lies  a  twofold  encourage- 
ment for  us :  First,  in  showing  that  the 
ignorance  which  is  through  the  weakness  of 
our  nature  need  in  no  way  harm  our  chikh*en, 
since  God  is  able  to  supply  all  our  need ;  and 
again  in  the  contemplation  of  the  bright  and 
glorious  company  who  are  his  messengei-s 
of  grace  to  us.  We  are  come  unto  an  innu- 
merable company  of  angels,  who  all,  with 
holy  delight,  rejoice  to  watch  over  the  train- 
ing of  immortal  souls  which  shall  shine  in 
the  kingdom  of  their  God. 

Oh,  the  wonderful  contrast  between  our 
weakness  and  those  ministers  of  his  which 
excel  in  strength  !  How  glorious  the  thought 
that  we  are  constantly  accompanied  by  them, 
and  that  they  have  received  a  charge  con- 
cerning us !  So  Daniel,  the  man  greatly 
beloved,  was  strengthened  by  an  angel.  So 
Isaiah,  wlien  overwhelmed  by  a  sense  of  sin. 


32  THE  SABBATH  MONTH 

was  purified  througli  the  medium  of  an  angel. 
So  John,  the  beloved  disciple,  was  led  by  an 
angel  in  his  visions  of  the  New  Jerusalem 
even  to  the  very  throne  of  God. 

AVe  need  not  fear  that  this  ministration  of 
angels  will  intervene  between  our  souls  and 
Christ.  They  are  no  hindrance  to  the  free 
and  unceasing  communion  of  the  faithful 
soul  with  her  Lord.  Yet  even  as  he  delights 
to  do  the  will  of  God,  so  his  servants  delight 
in  ministering  to  his  redeemed  ones,  his 
special  treasure  (Mai.  iii.  17,  margin).  Oh, 
the  glorious  assembly  to  which  this  minis- 
tration introduces  us ! 


NINTH  DAY. 

"We  are  the  cliihlren  of  God,  .  .  .  and  if  (liildrtii  tlieii, 
lieirs."— Rom.  viii.  1(5,  17. 

A  II,  what  a  new  meaning  these  blessed 
"^^  words  bear  to  me  now  as  I  hold  my  o\Yn 
child  ill  my  arms!     To  be  the  child  of  Gotl! 


NTNTIT  BAY.  33 

to  belong  to  liim  in  this  dearest,  closest  of 
relations !  Can  it  be  possible  tliat  I  can  be 
to  God  what  my  child  is  to  me?  that  he 
can  so  delight  in  me  as  I  now  delight  in  my 
baby  ?  "  The  Lord  thy  God  will  rejoice  over 
thee  with  joy :  he  will  rest  in  his  love :  he 
will  joy  over  thee  with  singing/'  even  as  I 
now  do  over  thee,  my  little  one,  with  a  joy 
which  is  but  a  shadow  of  the  joy  of  our 
Father  over  his  redeemed  ones. 

Oh,  let  me  take  this  love  of  mine  for  my 
child  for  a  lesson ;  and  daily,  as  it  grows 
stronger  and  deeper,  may  my  apprehension 
of  God's  love  for  me  become  deeper  and 
truer,  and  a  more  living  power  in  my  heart. 
Do  I  delight  in  providing  for  thy  wants,  my 
baby?  "How  much  more  shall  your  Father 
which  is  in  heaven  give  good  things  to  them 
that  ask  him !"  Do  I  shrink  from  pain  for 
ray  darling  and  hush  all  its  little  sorrows  upon 
my  bosom?  "As  one  whom  his  mother  com- 
forteth,  so  will  I  comfort  you."  Do  I  bear 
with   loving  patience   the   cares  which   my 


34  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

baby's  infirmities  bring  upon  me  ?  "  Ilis 
compassions  fail  not,"  and  "  like  as  a  father 
])itieth  Lis  cliiklren,  so  the  Lord  pitieth  them 
that  fear  him."  Would  I  keep  all  harm  and 
danger  from  my  little  one,  and  guard  it  even 
^vith  my  own  life?  "  God  so  loved  the  world 
that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son  "  for  its 
salvation.  His  Son — liis  only  Son  !  Oh  the 
depths  of  love  which  could  conceive  of  such 
a  sacrifice! — love  of  which  I,  clasping  my 
baby  to  my  heart,  now  first  begin  to  have  a 
o-limmerinof  sense.  Oh  for  such  love  wdiat 
devotion  can  be  an  adequate  return  ?  Who 
can  even  begin  to  comprehend  this  love  of 
God  to  us? 

Where,  then,  is  doubt  or  distrust  or 
anxiety  of  mind  ?  What  place  can  it  find 
in  the  presence  of  this  wondrous  love? 
"  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  deliv- 
ered him  up  for  us  all,  liow  shall  he  not,  with 
liim,  freely  give  us  all  things?"  IIow,  in- 
deed !  What  could  he  withh(»M  after  such 
an  infinite  sacrifice?     All  things  are  indeed 


TENTH  DAY.  35 

mine  while  I  call  God  my  Father,  for  "if 
children,  then  heirs.'' 

Lord  Jesus,  help  me  daily,  as  I  feel  my  love 
for  my  child  growing  and  strengthening  m 
my  heart,  to  gain  deeper  insight  into  the  love 
of  God  for  me.  Behold,  ivhat  manner  of 
love  the  Father  hath  bestowed  upon  us,  that 
we  should  be  called  the  sons  of  God  / 


TENTH    DAY. 

"Neither  shall  any  man  desire  thy  land,  when  thou  shalt  go 
up  to  appear  before  the  Lord  thy  God  thrice  in  the  year." — Ex. 
xxxiv.  24. 

"  QEE,  for  that  the  Lord  hath  given  you 
^  the  Sabbath,  therefore  he  giveth  you 
on  the  sixth  day  the  bread  of  two  days." 

"  I  know  whom  I  have  believed,  and  am 
persuaded  that  he  is  able  to  keep  that  which 
I  have  committed  unto  him." 

There  is  no  danger  in  the  way  of  the 
Lord's    commandments.      The    children   of 


36  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

Israel  could  safely  leave  their  wives  aiul 
their  little  ones,  their  flocks  and  herds,  while 
they  went  up  to  appear  before  the  Lord  ; 
no  man  should  desire  their  land,  and  all 
would  be  safe  in  the  keeping  of  their  heav- 
enly Father.  When  God  gives  a  command 
he  provides  the  way  for  its  keeping.  If  he 
gives  the  Sabbath,  and  ordains  that  in  it  no 
work  shall  be  done,  he  also  gives  on  the  sixth 
day  the  bread  of  two  days ;  if  he  sends  all 
the  men-children  up  to  his  holy  feast,  he 
makes  even  their  enemies  to  be  at  peace  with 
them  during  their  absence.  He  is  able  to 
keep  that  which  is  committed  to  him. 

()  my  soul!  stny  thou  thyself  upon  this 
word  of  the  Lord  ;  his  hand  is  not  shortened, 
and  evei-y  word  of  the  Lord  is  sure.  Hast 
thou  not  in  thine  own  providence  laid  me 
aside  from  my  usual  duties,  dear  Lord,  and 
may  I  not  trust  thee  that  no  harm  shall 
ensue  from  my  absence?  Loi'd,  I  am  prone 
to  anxiety  about  those  whose  comfort  and 
well-being  seemed  to  me  to  depend  upon  my 


TENTH  DAY.  37 

presence  among  them.  I  picture  to  myself 
the  dreariness  of  the  place  which  I  have  left 
to  go  up  and  appear  before  thee  ;  the  solitude 
of  those  to  whom  my  society  is  dear;  the 
dangers  to  which  they  are  exposed  who  need 
my  care ;  the  neglected  duties  of  those  who 
miss  my  supervision  ;  the  little  corner  of  thy 
vineyard,  where  I  have  been  wont  to  labor, 
neglected.  Lord,  help  me  to  roll  all  this 
burden  upon  thee.  I  have  thine  assurance, 
the  wolf  shall  not  be  permitted  to  creep  into 
the  fold  during  my  absence.  No  hireling 
shall  lead  any  of  the  flock  astray.  Thou  art 
able  to  keep  that  wdiich  I  have  committed  to 
thee.  Keep  me  too,  dear  Saviour,  under  the 
shelter  of  thy  wings,  safe  from  all  evil  and 
from  the  fear  of  evil.  "  I  will  say  of  the 
Lord,  He  is  my  refuge  and  my  fortress :  my 
God ;  in  him  will  I  trust." 

*'  Thou  shalt  not  be  afraid  for  the  terror 
by  night,  nor  for  the  arrow  that  flieth  by 
day,  nor  for  the  pestilence  that  walketh  in 
darkness,  nor  for  the  destruction  that  w^astetli 


38  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

at  noonday.  Because  tliou  hast  made  the 
Lord,  which  is  my  refuge,  even  the  Most 
High,  tliy  hahitation,  there  shall  no  evil  be- 
fall thee,  neither  shall  any  plague  come  nigh 
thy  dwelling.  For  he  shall  give  his  angels 
charge  over  thee,  to  keep  thee  in  all  thy 
ways." 


ELEVENTH  DAY. 

"And  -white  robes  Avere  given  unto  every  one  of  them." — • 
Rev.  vi.  11. 

A  S  my  baby  is  brought  to  me  so  pure  and 
■^  spotless  in  the  white  robes  my  own  love 
and  forethought  have  provided  for  it,  a  new 
lesson  in  holiness,  a  fresh  sense  of  my  heavenly 
Father's  love,  is  brought  home  to  my  heai't. 
I  am  reminded  of  the  tender  joy  with 
wdiich  I  prepared  not  only  things  useful 
and  necessary,  but  all  manner  of  beautiful 
and  dainty  garments,  for  my  baby.  And  so 
I  learn  to  trust  my  Saviour,  not  alone  for 
things  needful  to  my  existence,  but  for  what- 


ELEVENTH  DAY.  39 

ever  of  beauty  and  of  luxury  my  nature 
craves,  as  far  as  he  sees  them  to  be  good  for 
me.  With  wliat  glory  and  loveliness  he  has 
clothed  the  earth !  how  he  has  delighted  to 
make  all  things  beautiful  in  their  season  ! 
and  "  if  God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the 
field,"  shall  he  not  much  more  clothe  me — 
with  more  delight,  more  forethought  provide 
for  me  ?  "  Your  heavenly  Father  knoiveth 
that  ye  have  need  of  all  these  things,"  and 
anticipates  every  want  as  gladly  as  I,  with 
loving  heart,  provided  for  my  baby's  coming. 
*'  Bring  forth  the  best  rohe^''  he  commands, 
"  and  put  a  ring  on  his  hand,  and  shoes  on 
his  feet" — ornament  and  luxury  for  whom 
provided?  Not  for  one  innocent  of  actual 
offence,  as  is  my  baby,  but  for  one  who,  like 
me,  has  broken  his  law  and  wounded  his 
love ;  even  for  such  a  one  as  this.  "  I  will 
greatly  rejoice  in  the  Lord ;  my  soul  shall 
be  joyful  in  my  God ;  for  he  hath  clothed 
me  in  the  garments  of  salvation  ;  he  hath 
covered  me  with  the  robe  of  righteousness," 


40  THE  SABBATH  3I0NTIL 

So,  "  because  he  delights  in  me,"  as  I  in  my 
little  one,  he  delivers  me  from  sin  and  wills 
my  perfect  holiness.  "Behold,  I  have  caused 
thine  iniquity  to  pass  from  thee,  and  I 
have  clothed  thee  with  chanoje  of  raiment." 
"  Awake,  jDut  on  thy  beautiful  garments,  for 
from  henceforth  there  shall  no  more  come 
unto  thee  the  uncircumcised  and  unclean." 
No  stain  of  sin  may  be  cherished  in  my  soul, 
for  "the  King's  daughter  is  all  glorious  with- 
in," "and  unto  her  it  Avas  granted  that  she 
should  be  arrayed  in  fine  linen,  pure  and 
white,  for  the  fine  linen  is  the  righteousness 
of  the  saints." 

So,  when  I  look  upon  my  baby's  white 
robes  and  recall  the  bright  anticipations  of 
future  loveliness,  the  prayers  for  my  little  one's 
constant  growth  toward  perfection,  which  I 
stitched  into  every  seam  and  fold  of  the 
delicate  white  raiment,  I  am  reminded  tliat 
not  yet  is  the  "perfection  of  beauty"  which 
my  Father  has  designed  for  me.  That  great 
multitude    which    no    man    could    iHim])cr, 


ELEVENTH  DAY.  41 

wliicli  stood  before  the  throne  of  God  and  of 
the  Lamb,  is  of  them  which  have  come  out  of 
great  tribulation  and  have  washed  their  robes 
and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb.  Therefore  are  they  before  the  throne 
of  God.  May  I  be  numbered  with  that  holy 
throng!  Grant  me  grace,  O  my  Saviour, 
no  lonojer  to  shrink  from  the  trials  which 
thy  love  ordains  for  my  perfecting.  Bestow 
upon  me  that  absolute  confidence  in  thee 
which  will  enable  me  to  receive  sorrow  from 
thy  hand  with  cheerfulness,  "  not  accepting 
deliverance  "  from  aught  which  thou  sendest 
as  a  preparation  for  the  glorious  day  of  thine 
aj)pearing. 

And  yet,  as  I  receive  my  white-robed  baby 
into  my  arms  fresh  and  pure  from  its  morn- 
ing bath,  I  feel  that  great  rushing  tide  of 
tenderness  which  tells  me  that  in  no  future 
development  of  strength  and  beauty  can  my 
child  be  more  precious  to  me  than  now  in 
utter  weakness  and  dependence.  So  may  I 
realize  the  infinite  tenderness  of  our  Father 


42  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

for  those  who  cast  themselves,  helpless  and 
humble,  upon  his  love,  and  may  I  seek  to 
receive  the  kingdom  of  heaven  "  as  a  little 
child  " ! 


TWELFTH    DAY. 

"For  I  know  liini,  that  lie  Avill  command  his  chihhcn 
and  liis  household  after  him,  and  they  shall  keep  the  way 
of  the  Lord." — Gen.  xviii.  19. 

riUIE  literal  rendering  of  the  Hebrew  would 
-^  be,  "  I  have  known  (/.  e.  foreknown, 
elected)  him,  to  the  end  that  he  sliould  com- 
mand his  children,"  etc.  We  learn,  then, 
that  Abraham  was  distinctly  selected  by  God 
in  order  that  he  might  train  up  a  chosen  seed, 
an  elect  people,  to  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord. 
"  For  this  cause  I  have  raised  thee  up." 
Tliere  is  no  such  thing  as  a  happening  with 
our  God.  *' Ye  have  not  chosen  me,  hut  I 
have  chosen  you."  And  for  what?  "That 
ye  should  jjrinsr  forth  fi'uil."  ]t  is  jilwavs  for 
some  pui'pu6c.     ''Elect  unto  good  works" — 


TWELFTH  DAY.  43 

"  called  to  be  saints  "— *^  whom  he  did  fore- 
know, them  he  did  predestinate  to  he  con- 
formed to  the  image  of  his  Son.'' 

Abraham  was  elected  to  command  his 
children  and  his  household  that  tliev  should 
keep  the  way  of  the  Lord ;  and  this  is  also 
our  calling.  To  his  descendants  were  to  be 
committed  the  oracles  of  God  and  the  sacred 
trust  of  jDreserving  a  pure  worship.  Who 
shall  say  what  is  the  service  to  which  God 
has  destined  our  children  ?  Yet  that  they 
shall  be  fitted  for  it  depends,  under  God, 
upon  us.  Oh  to  be  faithful  in  all  our  house — 
to  set  the  Lord  always  before  us!  Our  relig- 
ious teachings  not  confined  to  stated  hours 
and  days,  but  to  proceed  spontaneously  from 
a  heart  filled  with  all  the  fullness  of  God! 
'•And  these  words — thou  shalt  teach  them 
diligently  to  thy  children,  and  shalt  talk  of 
them  when  thou  sittest  in  thine  house  and 
when  thou  walkest  by  the  way." 

God  established  his  covenant  with  Abra- 
ham, saying,  ''Walk  before  me,  and  be  thou 


44  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

perfect,  and  I  will  give  unto  thy  seed  all  tlie 
land  of  Canaan,  and  I  will  be  their  God." 
If  the  blessings  of  the  covenant  depended 
upon  our  walking  within  our  house  in  a  per- 
fect way,  unaided,  we  might  indeed  tremble 
for  our  children.  But  God  has  made  a  new 
covenant  with  his  people — "  an  everlasting 
covenant,  that  I  will  put  my  fear  in  their 
hearts,  that  they  shall  not  depart  from  me." 
Here,  indeed,  is  safety. 

Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  counted 
to  him  for  righteousness,  and  he  was  called 
the  friend  of  God.  Oh  for  Abraham's  faith  ! 
for  Abraham's  unquestioning  obedience !  for 
Abraham's  high  honor  in  the  frlcndsliip  of 
God! 


TITIRTEENTII  DAY.  45 

THIRTEENTH    DAY. 

"  As  new-born  babes,  desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word." — 
1  Pet.  ii.  2. 

A  NOTHER  lesson  I  may  learn  in  tins 
•^^  school  in  which  God  has  placed  me,  and 
again  my  baby  is  the  teaclier.  And  that  is 
the  theme  of  the  lesson,  which  most  perfectly 
shows  its  entire  dependence  upon  me.  How 
entirely  the  one  desire  for  the  mother's  breast 
absorbs  and  comprehends  this  little  life !  Al- 
ready it  has  come  to  know  this  all-sufficient 
satisflxction  for  every  want  of  its  existence — 
to  find  unutterable  content  in  the  provision 
which  has  been  made  to  meet  its  w^ants. 

So  with  my  hungering  and  thirsting  soul, 
which  was  created  for  the  enjoyment  of  God, 
and  can  never  be  satisfied  with  any  lesser 
good.  But  how  often,  unlike  my  baby,  I 
seek  to  satisfy  its  hunger  with  that  which 
satisfieth  not !  Although  I  have  so  often 
tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious,  how  often 
do  I  suffer  from  hunger  while  yet  he  is  ever 


46  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

willing  to  satisfy  all  my  need.  Oli  let  me 
lay  this  to  heart !  As  my  baby's  voice  cry- 
ing for  food  awakes  me  early  from  my  sleep, 
so  ''  my  voice  thou  shalt  hear  in  the  moi-n- 
ing,  O  Lord ;"  "  oh,  satisfy  us  early  with  thy 
mercy."  May  I  desire  no  other  refreshment 
than  the  rivers  of  thy  pleasure,  of  which 
thou  makest  thy  people  to  drink  !  May  the 
one  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness  so 
absorb  me  that  no  other  aim  may  seem 
worthy  of  my  pursuit !  And  as  my  baby,  in 
the  weakness  of  its  new-born  life,  needs  to 
be  frequently  nourished,  that  it  may  grow 
and  become  strong,  so  may  I  come  frequently 
to  thee,  O  thou  who  art  the  Bread  of  Life, 
that  I  may  grow  in  gi'ace  and  in  the  know- 
ledge of  God!  And  as  every  pain  and  sorrow 
this  dear  baby  experiences  is  forgotten  at 
this  "  cup  of  his  life  and  couch  of  his  rest,"  so 
may  I  in  every  sorrow  turn  to  thee  who  wilt 
satiate  the  weary  soul  and  re[)lenish  every 
sorrowful  soul,  until,  in  the  newness  of  life, 
I  and  the  children  which  thou  hast  given 


FOURTEENTH  DAY.  47 

me  come  to  dwell  where  we  shall  huiisier  no 
more,  neither  thh'st  any  more;  for  the  Lamb 
which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  sliall 
feed  us,  and  shall  lead  us  unto  living  foun- 
tains of  waters,  and  God  shall  wipe  away  all 
tears  from  our  eyes ! 


FOUETEENTH  DAY. 

"Thou   hast  found   grace  in  my   sight,  and  I   know   thee 
by  name." — Ex.  xxxiii.  17. 

rjlHE  baby's  name  !  How  important  a  mat- 
ter  is  its  selection  !  How  many  consider- 
ations go  toward  determining  it !  And  what 
a  new  and  complete  satisfliction  the  mother 
feels  in  her  little  one  when  she  knows  it  by 
name  I  What  sweet  associations  gather  around 
the  baby's  name — of  a  dear  j)arent,  or  of  a 
loved  brother  or  sister,  or  of  some  most  pre- 
cious friend,  perhaps  already  gathered  into 
the  eternal  home,  and  whose  most  hallowed 
remembrance  will  henceforth  be  in  the  dear 
child  who  bears  the  name ! 


48  THE  SABBATn  3WNTn. 

Bat  to  be  known  bv  name  of  God!     To 

ft/ 

be  personally  recognized  by  him,  singled  out 
by  him  from  all  the  world  to  be  the  recipient 
of  his  grace !  Shall  this  w^ondrous  blessing  be 
indeed  the  portion  of  our  darling?  For  thus 
saith  the  Lord  unto  his  chosen :  "  Fear  not, 
for  I  have  redeemed  thee ;  I  have  called  thee 
by  name ;  thou  art  mine."  "  Behold,  I  have 
graven  thee  upon  the  palms  of  my  hands." 
"  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  unto  those  who 
choose  the  things  that  please  him,  and  who 
take  hold  of  his  covenant.  Even  to  them 
■will  I  give  a  ^^lace  and  a  name  better  than 
that  of  sons  and  of  daughters,  even  an  ever- 
lasting name."  Then  we  need  not  fear  what- 
ever of  trial  or  of  discipline  the  world  may 
bring  to  our  j^recious  ones,  for  they  will  ever 
be  under  the  guidance  of  the  Good  Shepherd, 
"who  calleth  his  sheep  by  name,"  who  will 
make  them  more  than  conquerors,  and  will 
give  to  each  one  who  overcometh  "a  white 
stone,  nnd  in  the  stone  a  ncic  name  written, 
which  no  one  knoweth  save  him  that  rcceiv- 


FOURTEENTH  DAY.  49 

etli  it."     Blessed  secret,  known  only  to  tlie 
soul  and  its  Kedeemer ! 

But  thou  dost  not  only  know  us  by  name, 
O  Lord — thou  dost  even  reveal  thyself  to  us 
by  thine  own  name  of  Emmanuel,  God  with 
us.  Thy  name  is  no  more  secret,  for  "be- 
hold, the  tabernacle  of  the  Lord  is  with  men, 
and  he  wdll  dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall 
see  his  face,  and  his  name  shall  be  in  their 
foreheads."  "  Him  that  overcometh  thou 
wilt  make  a  pillar  in  the  house  of  thy  God, 
and  wilt  write  upon  him  the  name  of  God, 
and  wilt  write  upon  him  thy  new  name." 
"O  Lord,  our  Lord,  how  excellent  is  thy 
name  in  all  the  earth !  Out  of  the  mouth 
of  babes  and  sucklings  hast  thou  perfected 
praise." 

4 


60  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 


FIFTEENTH    DAY. 

"I  thank  God  when  I  call  to  remembrance  the  fjiith  that  is 
in  thee,  which  dwelt  first  in  tliy  grandmother  Lois,  and  in  thy 
mother  Eunice;  and  I  am  persuaded  that  in  thee  also."— 
2  Tim.  i.  3,  5. 

117  E  learn  from  these  words  what  a  cause 
^*  of  thankfuhiess  we  have  who  can  look 
back  upon  a  long  line  of  pious  ancestry. 
There  were  those  who  asked,  when  they 
learned  that  the  redemption  purchased  by 
Christ  was  not  to  be  confined  to  the  chosen 
race,  "What  advantage,  then,  hath  the  Jew?'' 
And  Paul's  answer  was  emphatic:  '' 3Iuch 
every  icay ;  chiefly  because  to  them  were 
committed  the  oracles  of  God."  This  was 
their  inheritance  from  "  faithful  Abraham," 
for  it  was  his  faith  which  led  to  his  family 
becoming  the  recipients  and  conservators  of 
the  word  of  God. 

How  often,  too,  in  the  midst  of  unbelief 
and  idolatry  was  the  rebellious  nation  saved 
from  destruction  for  the  fathers'  sakes  !  Many 


FIFTEENTH  DAY.  61 

a  time  would  tliey  have  been  cut  off  in  their 
sins  but  that  God  remembered  that  they  were 
^'  the  seed  of  Israel,  my  chosen,"  "  the  seed 
of  Abraham,  my  friend."  How  God  seems 
to  delight  in  calling  this  people  by  these 
names,  and  in  identifying  them  thus  with 
their  faithful  ancestors  !  The  pious  Israelite 
had  no  stronger  plea  with  which  to  approach 
his  God.  "Art  not  thou  our  God?"  prayed 
Jehoshaphat  when  in  fear  from  "a  great  mul- 
titude "  which  threatened  him — "  our  God, 
who  didst  drive  out  the  inhabitants  of  this 
hind  before  thy  people  Israel,  and  gavest  it 
to  the  seed  oi  Abraham,  thy  friend? ''  What 
depths  of  consolation  lay  hidden  for  him  in 
that  remembrance  of  his  ancestor,  the  friend 
of  God ! 

The  benefits  which  to  the  children  of 
Abraham  according  to  the  flesh  were  chiefly 
temporal  are  to  the  spiritual  Israel  spiritual 
and  eternal.  And  they  are  real.  As  the 
sinning  Israelites  could  never  fairly  estimate 
to  what  extent  they  owed  their  deliverance 


52  THE  SABBATH  MONTH 

from  tlicir  enemies  and  from  otlier  clinstise- 
ment  to  tlieir  faithful  ancestors,  so  in  all 
probability  we  liave  a  very  inadequate  con- 
ception of  what  we  owe  to  ours  in  the  sub- 
duing of  evil  tendencies,  in  the  elevation  of 
the  moral  nature,  in  an  early  bent  of  tlie 
mind  toward  God  and  holiness.  A  simple 
contrast  between  the  children  of  heathen  and 
of  Cliristian  lands  thows  us  Bomethino'  of  this. 
While  our  children  are  born  into  the  world 
pnrtakers  of  a  perverted  nature,  on  how 
much  higher  a  })lane  do  they  stand  as  to 
their  moral  perceptions,  their  capacity  for 
religous  training,  than  those  whose  })arent3 
liave  never  known  God  !  The  heritage  of 
faith  is  no  empty  word.  It  is  something  to 
liave  the  heritage  of  "them  that  fear  thy 
name."  "A  goodly  heritage"  indeed  is 
that  acquaintance  witii  God  which  has  been 
handed  down  from  parent  to  child  through 
many  generations.  For  Timothy  the  inihi- 
ence  of  a  pious  mother  and  graiidmotlier 
availed    to    counteract    the    iiilhience    of    a 


FIFTEENTH  DAY.  53 

heatlien  flitlier,  of  tlie  heathen  community 
in  which  he  was  born.  It  made  of  him  in 
early  youth  a  vahiecl  servant  of  the  Lord, 
enablins;  him  to  overcome  the  hindrance  of 
a  delicate  constitution  and  to  become  the 
workfellow  of  Paul,  the  companion  of  his 
bonds,  the  bishop  of  a  church  of  which  the 
Lord  could  say,  ''I  know  thy  works,  and 
thy  labor  and  thy  patience,  and  how  thou 
hast  borne,  and  hast  patience,  and  for  my 
name's  sake  hast  labored  and  hast  not 
fainted."  Was  not  this  indeed  a  goodly 
heritage?  To  our  children  an  equal  bless- 
in «:  will  ensue  if  we  transmit  to  them  un- 
spotted  the  holy  legacy  of  faith  v>diich  we 
ourselves  have  inherited.  And  to  us  what 
greater  joy  can  there  be  than  to  see  our 
children  walking  in  tlie  truth? 

Oh,  does  not  the  thought  of  all  we  have 
on  our  side,  of  all  our  encouragements,  stir 
us  up  to  be  very  faithful,  *^  knoiving  that 
our  labor  shall  not  be  in  vain  in  the  Ijord," 
and  that  our  experience  through  life  and  in 


54  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

death  will  be,  "  There  lias  not  failed  one 
word  of  all  his  good  promise  "  ?  *'  The  Lord 
our  God  be  with  us,  as  lie  was  with  our 
fathers!  •'     Amen. 


SIXTEENTH    DAY. 

"I  will   contei)(l  witli   ))i)n  that   contciidetli  with  ihce,  and 
I  will  suvc  thy  children." — IsA.  xlix.  25. 

rilllEIvE  is  one  who  contendeth  w^ith  us. 
-^  Your  adversary,  the  devil,  goeth  about 
as  a  roaring  lion,  seeking  whom  he  may 
devour.  Therefore,  it  especially  behooves 
lis  to  be  sober,  be  vigilant,  for  we  wrestle  not 
with  flesh  and  blood.  This  is  a  real  warfare 
in  whic'li  we  shall  engage  for  the  souls  of 
our  children.  Let  us  earnestly  take  heed, 
then,  that  our  hearts  be  not  overcome  with 
the  ('((rc.^  of  (his  life,  wliich  nre  so  inipenilive 
in  theii-  (Iciunnds  upon  us,  lest  we  tlius  grnd- 
nally  fill  into  a  condition  where  the  enemy 
jnay  snatch   away  the  souls  entrusted   to   us. 


SIXTEENTH  DA  Y.  55 

For  be  is  vigilant  and  terribly  in  earnest, 
and  Ls  not  afraid  to  seek  to  lay  bis  band  even 
upon  tlie  Lord's  own  cbildren.  *' Simon, 
Simon,  bebold,  Satan  batb  desired  to  bave 
you,  tbat  be  may  sift  you  as  wbeat."  All ! 
blessed  for  Simon  tbat  bis  Lord  added,  ^'But 
I  bave  prayed  for  tbee,  tbat  tby  faitb  fail 
not '' ! 

Here  is  an  encouragement :  '^ I  have  prayed 
for  theer  "  I  will  contend  with  him  tbat 
contendetb  witb  tbee."  "I  will  save  thy 
children^  Wbat  a  precious  promise  is  tliis ! 
How  we  may  stay  ourselves  ujdou  it !  Yes, 
Christ  has  indeed  contended,  and  witb  sore 
wounds  has  achieved  the  salvation  of  our 
children.  It  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise 
him — for  the  transgression  of  his  people  was 
he  stricken.  The  Prince  of  this  world  came 
to  him,  and  in  deadly  conflict  persecuted 
bis  soul.  In  that  anguish  in  which  he  sweat 
great  drops  of  blood  he  wrestled  with  the 
enemy  of  souls.  The  terrible  cry,  "  My  God, 
my  God,  why  bast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  "  bore 


66  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

witness  to  liis  mortal  sorrow.  Bat  he  con- 
quered. In  that  bitter  moment  it  teas  fin- 
ished. Through  death  he  destroyed  him 
that  had  the  power  of  death,  and  delivered 
them  whom  he  came  to  save. 

*'  I  will  save  thy  children."  Tliis  word  is 
our  security.  But  never,  never,  while  we 
remember  the  price  he  has  paid  for  their 
ransom,  can  we  weary  in  our  struggles  against 
his  enemy  and  ours. 

liCt  us  fight  on,-  then,  for  the  souls  of  our 
children.  Greater  is  He  that  is  in  us  than 
he  that  is  in  the  world.  The  God  of  peace 
shall  bruise  Satan  under  our  feet  shortly, 
and  "  to  him  that  overcometh  will  I  grant 
to  sit  with  me  in  my  throne,  even  as  I  also 
overcame,  and  am  set  down  with  my  Father 
in  his  throne." 


SEVENTEENTH  DAY.  67 

SEVENTEENTH    DAY. 

"  He  pitched  his  tent  toward  Sodom." — Gen.  xiii.  12. 

nnHERE  is  a  very  solemn  lesson  to  parents 
-^  in  the  example  of  Lot,  and  especially  to 
mothers,  who  are,  apparently,  more  liable  to 
flill  into  the  snare  in  which  he  was  taken. 
For  years  Lot  had  been  a  sharer  in  all  the 
blessings  of  Abraham — in  his  protection  from 
danger,  in  his  worldly  prosperity,  and  in  the 
personal  guidance  of  God.  That  he  was  a 
righteous  man  we  have  the  testimony  of  St. 
Peter  to  supplement  the  somewhat  doubtful 
witness  of  his  life.  But  his  riches  were  a 
snare  to  him.  When  it  became  necessary, 
from  his  increasing  wealth,  to  remove  from 
the  near  neighborhood  of  Abraham,  behold- 
ing the  plain  of  Jordan,  that  it  was  well 
watered  everywhere  like  the  garden  of  the 
Lord,  he  chose  the  whole  plain  of  Jordan, 
but  ^'  he  pitched  his  tent  toward  Sodonij^ 
although  he  knew  that  **  the  men  of  Sodom 
were  wicked   and  sinners  before   the  Lord 


58  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

exceedingly."  That  was  tlie  first  step.  A 
gecoiid  finds  him  diveUing  in  Sodom ;  and  a 
third,  sitting  in  the  place  of  honor  at  the 
gate  of  the  city. 

And  what  a  hitter  harvest  of  his  worldli- 
iiess  did  he  reap!  Saved,  indeed,  himself, 
"  the  Lord  being  merciful  to  him,"  but  saved 
so  as  by  fire,  his  wife  overtaken  by  a  fearful 
doom,  his  children  lost,  if  not  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  Sodom,  yet  in  being  left  to  fall  into 
the  blackest  crimes,  their  moral  nature  ut- 
terly corrupted  by  the  ungodly  associations 
of  their  youth. 

What  a  fearful  warning  to  any  of  us  who 
are  tempted  to  believe  that  conformity  to  the 
world  will  in  any  way  benefit  our  children! 
To  lose  them  through  our  very  efforts  for 
their  prosperity  !  Do  not  our  hearts  tell  us 
that  salvation  itself  for  us  could  be  no  sal- 
vation if  they  wei'e  lost?  Yet  are  wu  not 
sometimes  inclined  to  run  this  risk  fi)r  the 
sake  of  certain  adv:mt:iges  which  may  be 
iTiiincd   for  oui*  chihhcn   bv  the  companion- 


SEVENTEENTH  DAY.  59 

ship  of  workllj  people,  and  trusting  that  we 
may  still,  by  our  prayers  and  teachings,  keep 
their  garments  unspotted  even  while  bring- 
ing them  into  contact  with  the  pollution  of 
nin  ?  O  Lord,  save  us  from  this  delusion  ! 
Hide  us,  in  the  secret  of  thy  'presence^  from 
the  pride  of  man.  When  the  Prince  of  this 
world  Cometh  with  all  his  flattering  repre- 
sentations of  the  benefits  of  a  worldly  life, 
may  he  find  "nothing  in  us"  which  responds 
to  his  allurements ! 

Let  us  beware  of  setting  an  undue  esti- 
mate on  the  attractions  and  the  usefulness 
of  the  friendship  of  the  world.  While  we 
may  use  this  world,  let  us  do  it  tremblingly, 
as  not  abusing  it.  Demas,  once  the  fellow- 
laborer  of  Paul,  forsook  him,  having  loved 
this  2^^'esent  world.  How  many  times  have 
the  cares  of  this  world  so  choked  the  word 
in  the  heart  of  a  believing  mother  that  it 
has  becDme  unfruitful !  Oh,  let  us  not  be 
conformed  to  the  world!  Though  we  live  in 
it,  let  us  remember  that  we  are  not  of  it ;  and 


60  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

as  the  lily-bulb,  planted  in  the  dark  and 
corrupting  earth  of  a  forest-bog,  draws  from 
thence  onlv  that  which  will  nourish  its  fair 
growth  and  cause  it  to  blossom  forth  into 
the  perfect  form  of  loveliness  its  Maker  de- 
signed for  it,  so  may  we  absorb  from  our 
earthly  contact  only  that  which  shall  cause 
ns  to  grow  into  the  likeness  of  our  Lord  ! 
For  "  even  in  Sardis  "  he  has  those  who  have 
not  defded  their  garments,  and  "  they  shall 
walk  v.'ith  him  in  white.'' 


EIGHTEEXTII    DAY. 

"Oat  of  tlie  moutli  of  babes   and  sucklings   hast  thou   or- 
dainud  strength." — Ps.  viii.  2. 

r\^,  rather,  as  the  Hebrew  words  signify, 
^  "  hast  thou  founded  a  tower  of  streiujth,^^ 
The  mother  soon  learns  the  meanins;  of  the 
text.  A\  ords  are  inadequate  to  express  the 
"strono;  consolation"  which  the  bal)v  brinus 
its  mother  in  moments  oi'  p('i'j)K'xity  or  of 


EIGHTEENTH  DAY.  61 

weariness  or  of  temptation.  To  turn  from  tlie 
cares  which  burden,  or  the  sad  thoughts 
which  depress,  to  take  the  little  one  in  her 
arms,  to  feel  the  soft  pressure  of  baby  lips 
upon  her  breast,  the  clinging  of  baby  fingers 
around  her  own,  is  an  unspeakable  refresh- 
ment, a  joy  in  which  a  stranger  internied- 
dleth  not.  In  those  moments,  too,  which 
come  to  even  the  happiest  wife,  of  longing  for 
the  dear  ones  of  the  early  home  from  which 
distance  or  death  has  parted  her,  the  baby  is 
her  best  consoler.  *'  Instead  of  thy  fathers 
shall  be  thy  children,  whom  thou  mayest 
make  princes  in  all  the  earth." 

How  sweet  is  the  thouo;ht  that  our  Sa- 
viour  in  the  days  of  his  life  on  earth  found 
strength  and  comfort  to  flow  to  his  soul  from 
the  lips  of  babes !  When  little  chikh-en 
joined  the  worshiping  throng  in  crying 
hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David — when,  after 
the  multitude  had  been  silenced,  their  eager 
enthusiasm  urged  them  to  follow  him  even 
into  the  temple-court  with  their  shouts   of 


G2  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

praise — can  we  doubt  that  his  soul  was 
strengthened  by  the  sound?  He  who  was 
in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet 
without  sin,  shared  also,  we  love  to  think, 
our  consolations.  And  so  his  soul  in  that 
trying  hour,  sorrowing  over  Jerusalem, 
wounded  by  her  sins,  torn  by  tlie  know- 
ledge that  these  acclamations  and  hosannas 
of  tlie  nudtitude  should  in  a  few  davs  be 
changed  to  the  ferocious  clamor  of  an  angry 
mob, — his  soul  found  soothins;  and  strength 
in  the  voices  of  little  children.  He  would 
not  have  them  stilled.  ''  Yea,  have  ye  never 
read,"  he  says,  "  out  of  the  mouth  of  babes 
and  sucklings  hast  thou  perfected  praise  ? '' 
How  surely  do  both  parents  find  a  "  tower 
of  strength  "  in  their  little  one  in  respect  of 
their  own  plans  and  aspirations!  Few  as 
their  years  may  have  been,  they  have  suf- 
ficed to  convince  them  of  the  inadequacy  of 
life  for  tlie  work  they  had  set  themselves  to 
do.  As  the  "celestial  lidit"  of  voutli  be- 
gins  to  fade  into  the  light  of  common  day, 


ETGIITEENTII  DAY.  63 

glorious  visions  lose  their  brightness,  golden 
hopes  grow  dim,  all  labor  seems  wearisome 
and  profitless.  Bat  the  baby  comes,  and  all 
is  changed.  The  rosy  light  of  a  second  dawn 
glows  upon  the  parents'  path ;  a  vista  as  of 
eternity  opens  before  it ;  life  is  no  longer 
bounded  by  one  short  existence ;  hopes  and 
plans  are  no  more  dwarfed  by  the  narrow 
conditions  of  mortality,  but  spring  up,  broad- 
enins;  and  widenins:  over  all  time,  while 
chiklren  and  chiklren's  children  shall  carry 
on  the  work  and  bring  that  to  grand  com- 
pletion of  which  the  parents  but  laid  the 
foundation. 

Has  not  the  Lord  ordained  that  from  these 
babes  the  Church  on  earth  should  draw  new 
strength  ?  When  that  happy  day  arrives  of 
which  we  now  discern  the  dawnins: — when 
every  child  upon  whom  the  Excellent  Xame 
has  been  named  shall  be  acknowledged 
among  the  people  of  God — when  the  heart 
of  the  fathers  being  turned  to  the  children, 
and  the  heart  of  the  children  to  their  fathers, 


64  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

there  shall  be  no  longer  schism  in  the  mem- 
bers of  Christ's  boely,-^ — then  will  the  Church 
awake  and  put  on  her  strength  as  never  be- 
fore. Then  Satan,  being  routed  from  his 
strongest  hold,  the  hearts  of  the  children, 
will  be  robbed  of  his  greatest  power  over  the 
Lord's  people ;  then  the  hopefulness  and  the 
humility  of  the  little  child  will  alike  infuse 
new  life  into  our  churches,  and  often  and 
often  will  the  Saviour's  thankss-ivins:  find  an 
echo  in  the  hearts  of  his  people :  '^  I  thank 
thee,  O  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth, 
because  thou  hast  hid  these  thino-s  from  the 
wise  and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed  them 
unto  babes." 


NINETEENTH     DAY. 

"Thou    wilt   keep    liiin    in    perfect    i>f:ice    whose    mind    is 
staved  on  tliec." — IsA.  xxvi.  3. 

rpilE  marginal  reading  for  mind  is  imag- 
■^  inallon,  and  in  that  word  lies  a  very 
precious  lesson  for  mothers,  who  are  apt  to 


NINETEENTH  DAY.  65 

indulge  in  anxious  fears  and  apprehensions 
of  future  evil  to  their  loved  ones.  How 
many  mothers  have  been  robbed  of  half 
their  joy  in  their  infant  children  by  dwell- 
ing upon  the  cares  and  sorrows,  the  tempta- 
tions and  sufferings,  to  which  they  are  born ! 
From  all  these  vain  imaginations  let  us  turn, 
and  stay  ourselves  upon  the  Lord.  How 
rapidly,  when  some  slight  ailment  affects  the 
little  one,  do  our  thoughts  spring  forward  to 
greater  suffering  in  store  for  it,  to  possible 
bereavement  in  ourselves ! — how  often  do  we 
taste  of  the  bitterness  of  death  and  of  part- 
ing while  as  yet  God  has  prepared  no  such 
sorrow  for  us !  From  this  trial  and  from 
how  many  heavy  forebodings  we  should  be 
saved  if  our  imagination  were  stayed  on 
God !  ''  Thoii  wilt  keep  him  in  peace, 
peace  " — is  the  emphatic  Hebrew  idiom  ;  and 
our  Lord  repeats  it:  ^^ Peace  I  leave  with 
you,  my  peace  I  give  you,  let  not  your  heart 
be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be  afraid." 

We  have  little  idea  how  much  these  "vain 


6(5  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

[i.  e.  useless]  thoughts"  paralyze  our  hearts 
and  unfit  us  for  dutv,  and  still  less  how 
they  intervene  between  us  and  our  God.  It 
is  no  lio-ht  thino;  that  we  thus  disturb  and 
frighten  away  the  blessed  Spirit  of  Peace 
which  waits  to  take  up  its  abode  with  us. 
"Casting  down  imaginations  and  bringing 
into  captivity  every  thought  to  the  obedience 
of  Christ."  Herein  lies  a  deep  mystery.  For 
"he  learned  obedience  through  the  things  that 
he  suffered  i''  and  our  thoughts  and  imagi- 
nations will  only  be  brought  into  captivity 
to  his  obedience  when  we  too  are  ivilling  to 
suffer  his  righteous  will.  Then  we  shall  in- 
deed not  be  afraid — not  because  no  ill  shall 
befall  us,  but  because  we  are  confident  that 
all  our  aflliction,  being  sent  by  him,  shall 
work  out  a  "far  more  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory."  So  shall  we  attain  to  tlie 
peace  of  him  whose  heart  is  jixid,  trusting 
in  the  Ijord. 

But  there  is  blessed  occupation  for  thought 
and  imagination.     The  remembrance  of  past 


NINETEENTH  DAY.  67 

mercy,  the  hope  of  future  and  eternal  glory, 
are  blessed  themes  of  contemplation.  We 
do  not  sufficiently  give  ourselves  to  this  bu- 
siness of  heavenly  meditation  or  of  talking 
Avith  God  of  his  mercies.  These  quiet  days 
of  retirement  are  well  fitted  for  forming  the 
habit  of  such  meditation.  •'  O  Lord  God  of 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  of  Israel  our  fathers," 
prayed  David,  ^'  keep  this  for  ever  in  the 
imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  the  heart  of 
thy  people,  and  prepare  their  heart  unto 
thee."  God's  glory  and  greatness,  his  won- 
derful goodness  to  his  people,  and  his  con- 
descension in  permitting  them  to  dedicate 
their  wealth  to  his  service,  were  the  themes 
wdiich  David  prayed  might  occupy  the  imag- 
ination of  the  people;  and  they  are  glorious 
occupation  indeed  for  the  thoughts  of  any 
of  God's  creatures.  In  such  a  habit  of  mind 
we  would  find  our  cares  and  anxieties  more 
than  half  done  away ;  our  '^  peace  would 
then  be  as  a  river,  and  our  righteousness  as 
the  waves  of  the  sea." 


68  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 


TWENTIETH    DAY. 

"  I  will  be  a  God  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee."^ 
Gex.  xvii.  7. 

ri^rilS  was  the  promise  of  God  to  Abra- 
-^  liam  ill  the  day  that  he  (made,  i.  e.) 
gave  his  covenant  to  liim — a  covenant  not 
made  with  conditions,  as  the  first  covenant 
with  Adam ;  not  even  concerted  between 
two  consenting  parties,  as  in  the  day  when 
God  promised  the  land  of  Canaan  to  Abra- 
ham's seed  ;  l)iit  now  a  free  gift,  of  wliich 
the  sign  and  seal  was  fonnd  in  the  rite  of 
circnmcision.  And  this  covenant  we,  the 
children  of  Abraham  by  faith,  claim  for  onr 
children  whom  we  offer  to  God  in  the  sacred 
ordinance  of  baptism.  They  are  the  chil- 
dren of  God.  Buried  with  Christ  in  baptism, 
they  are  to  rise  with  him  to  newness  of  lite. 
There  is,  thereibre,  noic  no  eondemnalion  to 
them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus.  We  hope 
not  merely  for   their  fiitnr(^;  w(^  believe   in 


TWENTIETH  DAY.  69 

tlieir  present  salvation.  JVoiv  are  they  the 
sons  of  God. 

Not  for  any  regenerating  grace  in  the  or- 
dinance. From  the  moment  when  we  first 
bear  them  on  our  hearts  to  God  and  conse- 
crate them  to  his  service — a  consecration  of 
which  the  rite  of  baptism  is  the  public  token — 
from  that  moment  God  accepts  them.  "  Fear 
not,"  he  says  to  them ;  "  I  have  called  thee 
by  tliy  name ;  thou  art  mine ;"  and  in  that 
pledge  may  we  rest,  giving  our  precious  ones 
wholly  into  the  hands  of  the  Lord  their 
Kedeemer. 

Rest,  but  not  in  inaction.  How  can  we, 
to  whom  is  committed  the  training  of  the 
children  of  a  King,  be  ever  unmindful  of 
our  high  vocation  ?  We  are  now  co-workers 
w^ith  God  in  the  education  of  his  consecrated 
ones.  How  carefully  shall  we,  partakers  of 
this  heavenly  calling,  be  faithful  in  all  our 
house !  How  confidently  may  we  pray  for  a 
blessing  on  our  labors,  knowing  tliat  for  his 
own  name's  sake  he  will  do  it!    Our  children 


70  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

will  not  grow  up  in  ignorance  of  their  great 
privilege.  From  tlie  earliest  chuvn  of  reason 
we  will  teach  them  the  blessedness  of  their 
situation  as  being  the  little  ones  whom  the 
Lord  Jesus  gathered  in  his  arms  and  blessed. 
Not  as  Esau,  who  despised  his  birthright, 
but  as  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord,  called  unto 
holiness,  they  will  grow  up  in  the  nurture 
and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  So,  recogniz- 
ing their  peculiar  responsibilities  and  con- 
fiding in  their  parents'  God,  whom  they  have 
early  learned  to  know,  we  shall  see  them,  as 
they  arrive  at  a  fit  age  to  make  a  conscious 
choice,  taking  upon  themselves  the  vows  of 
the  Lord.  "  Our  sons  will  be  as  plants  grown 
up  in  their  youth,"  "our  daughters  as  cor- 
ner-stones, polished  after  the  similitude  of  a 
palace;"  "and  they  shall  be  mine,"  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  "  in  the  day  that  I  make 
up  my  jewels."  For  this  is  the  heritage  of 
the  servants  of  the  Lord,  and  such  hunur 
have  all  his  saints.     Praise  ye  the  Lord  ! 


TWENTY-FIRST  DAY.  71 

TWENTY-FIRST    DAY. 

"Feed  the  flock  of  God  which  are  umong  you." — 1  Pet. 
V.  2. 

A  S  Peter  j3enned  tlie  words  of  this  exlior- 
"^  tation  he  can  hardly  have  failed  to 
recall  to  mind  his  Saviour's  twice-repeated 
charge,  ^*  Feed  my  lambs."  The  lambs  of 
the  flock  are  very  precious  to  our  Lord. 

There  is  a  sense  in  which  this  exhortation 
is  addressed  especially  to  each  mother,  inas- 
much as  she  stands  at  the  head  of  one  house- 
hold in  the  Lord's  Zion :  "  Feed  the  flock 
of  God  which  is  among  you^ 

Every  living  Christian  strongly  desires  to 
labor  actively  for  his  Lord.  Each  one  of  us, 
when  we  first  became  conscious  of  his  love, 
asked,  "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to 
do?"  And  to  many  of  us  the  way  seemed 
quite  hedged  up.  Our  circumstances,  our 
youth,  our  sex,  made  it  appear  wise  to  our 
j)arents  to  circumscribe  our  field  in  a  way 
which  disappointed  and  tried  our  new-born 


72  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

zeal.  Or  there  seemed  to  be  literally  notliing 
for  us  to  do.  Many  and  many  a  beloved 
servant  of  the  Lord  has  gone  mourning  all 
her  days  because  her  Master  seemed  to  deny 
her  the  privilege  of  working  for  him — not 
realizing  that  her  prayers  and  her  patience 
were  more  potent  service  than  any  other. 
If  we  have  belonged  to  this  class  before,  our 
prayer  is  now  answered.  In  the  little  child 
now  given  us  we  have  one  of  Christ's  flock, 
and  the  most  j^recious,  thankful  task  that 
heart  could  desire  in  nourishing  its  spirit- 
ual life. 

There  are  others  of  us  to  whom  the  Lord 
has  opened  wide  avenues  of  usefulness,  whose 
time  and  strength  have  been  gladly  devoted 
to  his  active  service.  To  such  the  injunction 
comes  with  double  force :  "  Feed  the  flock  of 
God  wliich  is  among  you.  Beware  how  any 
foreign  interest,  however  important,  lead  to 
the  neglect  of  one  duty  to  this  precious  soul 
which  I  have  intrusted  to  tliee."  **As  thy 
servant    was    busy    here    and    there,  lie    was 


TWENTY-FIRST  DAY.  73 

gone."  Oh,  can  it  be  possible  that  that 
shall  ever  be  the  excuse  we  shall  bring  to 
God  when  at  his  appearing  he  shall  ask, 
"Whei-e  is  the  flock  that  was  given  thee — 
thy  beautiful  flock  ? "  The  thought  is  too 
terrible.  We  shrink  in  horror  from  the 
idea  of  such  a  sequence  to  our  busy  labors 
in  God's  service. 

Oh,  let  us  never  yield  to  this  temptation. 
There  is  more  danger  of  it  than  we  now 
realize,  shut  up  to  the  Sabbath  rest  of  the 
sick-room,  with  eternity  so  near  to  us  as  it 
has  been  but  now.  Let  us  be  very  watchful 
in  this  matter  who  have  wide-reaching  sym- 
pathies in  the  field  of  the  Lord.  How  bitter 
would  be  our  cry,  ^'  Mine  own  vineyard  have 
I  not  kept,"  if  later  in  life  we  should  see  one 
of  our  children's  souls  dwarfed  and  stunted 
for  want  of  the  culture  we  should  have  <>:iven 
it  years  before ! 

Let  "This  one  thing  I  do"  be  our  motto. 
Let  us  be  ensamples  to  our  little  flock  in  all 
holy  living.     Let  us  draw  them  with  our 


74  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

sweet  influences  till  they  run  after  us  up 
the  heavenly  road.  So  may  we  appear  be- 
fore him  w^ith  joy  at  last,  saying,  "Thine 
they  were,  and  thou  gavest  them  me,  and 
they  have  kept  thy  word.^^ 


TWENTY-SECOND    DAY. 

"But  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  is  from  everlasting  to  ever- 
lasting upon  them  that  fear  him,  and  his  righteousness  unto 
children's  children." — Ps.  ciii.  17. 

TJOW  God  delights  in  reminding  us  of 
^  his  mercy!  Thirty-seven  times  in  the 
Bible  he  tells  us  that  his  mercy  endureth 
for  ever.  When  Moses  prayed,  "  I  beseech 
thee,  show  me  thy  glory,"  he  said,  "  I  will 
make  all  my  goodness  pass  before  thee,"  and 
proclaimed  his  name — "  The  Lord,  the  Lord 
God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suffering 
and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth ;  keep- 
ing mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity 
and  transgression  and  sin."  And  how  in- 
finitely his  delight  in  mercy  transcends  his 


TWENTY-SECOND  DAY.  75 

pleasure  in  his  justice- — looking  at  it  from 
the  earthward  side — is  shown  where  he  says, 
"Visiting  the  iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon 
the  children  unto  the  thb^d  a?id  fourth  gen- 
eration," and  "  Know,  therefore,  that  the 
Lord  thy  God  is  the  faithful  God  which 
keepeth  covenant  and  mercy  with  them  that 
love  him  and  keep  his  commandments  to  a 
thousand  (/enerat  ions  J'  This  is  indeed  ''keeji- 
ing  covenant  with  children's  children."  If 
they  depart  from  his  ways,  he  "  will  chasten 
them "  indeed,  but  his  "  mercy  shall  not 
depart  away  from  them."  Prone  to  wander 
as  we  are,  he  does  not  leave  us  to  ourselves. 
"  Wherefore,  I  will  yet  plead  with  you,  saith 
the  Lord,  and  with  vour  children's  children 
will  I  plead."  His  covenant  is  an  everlast- 
ing covenant. 

There  is  somethins;  verv  noticeable  in  the 
expression,  "  his  righteousness  to  children's 
children."  It  is  as  if  he  considered  it  a  debt 
that  he  owed  his  servants — that  they  had  a 
right  to  claim  his  mercy  to  their  descend- 


76  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

ants.  "God  is  not  unrighteous,  to  forget  your 
work  and  labor  of  love ;"  no,  "  the  righteous 
shall  be  in  everlasting  remembrance/' 

What  an  incentive  is  this  to  growth  in 
grace !  Plow  earnestly  shall  I  seek  to  be 
accounted  as  righteous  in  his  sight  if  such 
benefits  are  to  accrue  therefrom  not  only  to 
my  children,  but  to  children's  children  as 
long  as  the  world  shall  endure.  And  oh 
the  joy  of  knowing  that  righteousness  may 
be  mine  through  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus ! 
His  robe  of  righteousness  not  only  covers  our 
sins  and  iniquities  and  makes  us  outwardly 
pure,  hiding  our  sins  from  God's  sight; 
such  is  its  blessed  and  wondrous  efficacy  that 
it  works  within,  and  actually  does  purify  the 
hearts  of  those  over  whom  it  is  cast.  We 
"are  complete  in  him."  Then  let  me  (piickly 
throw  away  the  rags  and  tatters  of  my  own 
righteousness,  with  which  I  may  be  seeking 
to  adorn  myself,  and  accept  of  "  the  right- 
eousness which  is  by  faith  "  so  freely  offered 
to  me. 


TWENTY-SECOND  DAY.  77 

But  the  promise  is  to  those  who  "keep 
his  covenant  and  who  remember  his  com- 
mandments, to  do  them."  Then  must  I 
carefully  train  my  children  to  know  the 
duties  as  well  as  the  j)vivileges  of  the  cove- 
nant. Its  blessings  are  freely  theirs ;  how 
awful,  then,  the  penalty  of  a  deliberate  re- 
jection of  them !  The  thought  that  this 
depends,  under  God,  upon  mothers,  must 
make  us  watchful  indeed.  But  let  us  not 
be  overwhelmed  with  this  responsibility.  It 
is  a  blessed  thing  if  it  keeps  us  instant  in 
prayer,  ever  clinging  to  Jesus,  who  alone 
and  who  so  freely  gives  grace  to  us  and  ours ; 
and  with  what  confidence  we  may  ask  him 
that  he  will  put  such  a  heart  in  them  when 
we  can  say,  ''  We  do  not  present  our  suppli- 
cations to  thee  for  our  righteousness,  but  for 
thy  great  mercies  ".^  We  shall  never  be 
ashamed  who  trust  in  the  mercy  of  God  that 
he  will  keep  his  covenant — still  less  we  who 
trust  in  his  rigJdeousness. 


78  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 


TWENTY-THIRD    DAY. 

"And  it  was  so,  when  tlie  days  of  their  feasting  were  gone 
about,  that  Job  sent  and  sanctified  them,  and  rose  up  early  in 
the  morning,  and  offered  burnt-offerings  according  to  the 
number  of  them  all;  for  Job  said,  It  may  be  that  my  sons 
liave  sinned  and  cursed  God  in  their  hearts.  Thus  did  Job 
continually." — Job  i.  15. 

"WHATSOEVER  things  Avcre  written 
' '  aforetime  were  written  for  our  learn- 
ing, that  we,  through  patience  and  comfort 
of  the  Scriptures,  miglit  liave  hope."  Let 
us,  then,  consider  tlie  conduct  of  Joh  as  an 
exam])le  for   ourselves. 

We  find  him  offering  intercessory  prayer 
for  his  children.  And  how  gladly  do  we 
accept  this  teaching  that  we  men/  pray  for 
ours!  "And  my  servant  Job  shall  pray  for 
you,  for  him  will  I  accept,"  God  himself  says 
later  to  Job's  three  friends,  showing  that  he 
delights  in  such  i)i'aver.  What  wins^s  does 
this  assui-ance  lend  to  every  mother's  }>rayer 
as  she  ])leads  with  God  for  her  beloved  chil- 
dren !     "The  effectual,  fervent  prayer  of  a 


TWENTY-THIRD  DAY.  79 

righteous  man  availeth  much."  Oh,  then,  let 
us  never  wearj  in  praying  for  our  children, 
since  our  prayers  will  avail  much  for  them. 
But  Job  not  only  prays  for  them  in  seci*et ; 
he  calls  them  to  prayer,  and  cultivates  in 
them,  even  after  they  have  passed  the  age  of 
infancy,  a  tender  conscience  and  a  readiness 
to  confess  their  sins.  We  have  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  the  series  of  festivities  which 
these  sons  and  dau2:hters  held  were  other 
than  innocent.  As  God  could  challenge 
Satan  to  show  a  sin  ode  flaw  in  Job's  charac- 
ter,  it  is  not  likely  that  he  had  neglected  the 
traininoj  of  his  children,  and  the  readiness 
with  which  they  obey  his  call  is  an  evidence 
of  their  right  feeling.  But  Job  knows  the 
peculiar  dangers  of  prosperity  and  the 
temptations  to  which  the  youthful  and 
light-hearted  are  especially  exposed,  and 
he  teaches  his  children  to  examine  them- 
selves and  see  if,  even  inadvertently,  they 
had  sinned.  Let  us  learn  froui  his  example 
to  be  very  careful    how   we   retain   a   holy 


80  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

influence  over  our  eliildren  at  the  age  ^vlle^ 
they  are  being  gradually  weaned  from  home 
and  assuming  individual  responsibility,  for 
tlie  responsibility  of  a  j)arent  never  wholly 
ceases. 

There  is  a  thought  hidden  in  this  history 
which  we  may  perhaps  ponder  with  benefit. 
Job  offered  sacrifices  for  his  children.  It  is 
true  he  did  it  as  the  priest  of  his  household, 
and  our  great  Sacrifice  having  been  slain 
for  us,  there  remaineth  now  no  more  offering 
for  sin.  But  we  do  still  brins;  our  thank- 
offerinofs  and  our  free-will  offerino's  into  the 
temple  of  the  Lord,  and  there  seems  to  be  a 
peculiar  blessedness  in  doing  this,  not  only 
for  ourselves,  but  for  our  children.  This  is 
a  thought  especially  for  the  mothers  of  little 
children.  Who  can  tell  how  the  offerins: 
brought  in  the  name  and  stead  of  this  little 
one  may  be  blessed  by  God  to  its  own  soul ! 
liow  the  infant  heart  thus  associated  in  the 
W(ji"k  of  the  Lord  thromih  its  mother's  failh 

o 

and   ])rayer  may   be  especially  softened    by 


TWENTY-FOURTH  DAY,  81 

the  dews  of  tlie  lieavenly  grace,  and  made 
more  tender,  more  loving,  more  self-denying, 
more  earnest  in  the  service  of  the  Lord,  even 
unconsciously  to  itself,  as  by  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord !  We  love  to  offer  gifts  to  God  in 
memory  of  our  lost  loved  ones ;  why  should 
we  not  "  let  love  antedate  the  work  of  death  " 
in  consecrating  a  portion  to  him  in  anticipa- 
tion  of  the  time  when  our  beloved  may  join 
us  in  the  work  of  the  Lord  ? 

And  let  us  remember  that  our  prayers  and 
efforts  for  our  children  are  not  to  cease  while 
life  lasts,  for  "  thus  did  Job  continually." 


TAYENTY-FOURTH    DAY. 

"  I  will  lead  on   softly,  according  as  the  children  be   able 
to  endure." — Gen.  xxxiii.  14. 

TN  our  pilgrimage  toward  the  heavenly 
-*-  Canaan  we  do  not  travel  alone.  "No 
man  livetli  to  himself,"  and  our  progress  in 
the  divine  life  is  not  to  be  without  reference 

6 


>^2  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

to  onr  eliildren.  They  are  membei's  of  the 
liousehold  of  faith  equally  with  us,  but  they 
are  still  babes  in  Christ.  If  we  ourselves 
often  stumble,  how  much  more  are  they  in 
danger  of  falling  !  "  Let  us  be  very  gentle 
among  them  ;  as  a  nurse  cherisheth  her  chil- 
dren "  let  us  cherish  this  little  life  which 
has  but  now  begun. 

The  piety  of  our  children  will  be  infant 
piety — no  more  fitted  to  encounter  rude  con- 
flict than  they  themselves  are  fitted  to  go  out 
into  the  world  alone.  And  God  has  given 
them  a  mother  not  more  to  nourish  and  care 
for  their  bodies  than  their  souls.  **  Thou 
hast  seen  how  the  Lord  thy  God  did  bear 
thee  as  a  man  beareth  his  son ; "  we  have  still 
need  that  the  Lord  should  be  ^'  long-suffer- 
ing to  US-ward."  As  we  stand  in  the  place 
of  God  to  our  children  in  matters  of  author- 
ity and  of  duty,  so  let  us  see  that  we  repre- 
sent him  in  his  care  for  souls.  "  I  tauirht 
Ephraim  also  to  go,  taking  them  by  their 
arms;"  as  a  n^other  supports  the  first  tottei^ 


TWENTY-FOURTH  DAY.  83 

iiig  steps  of  her  baby,  so  in  their  first  feeble 
steps  on  the  highway  of  holiness  let  them 
be  constantly  aware  of  our  guiding  and 
supporting  hands.  How  carefully  we  shall 
remove  every  little  stumbling-block  from 
the  way  of  our  baby's  first  steps!  How 
jealously,  too,  should  we  "  make  straight 
paths  for  their  feet,"  lest  they  stumble  in 
their  heavenlv  walk  ! 

Above  all,  ou?'  own  advance  is  to  be  no 
impediment  to  theirs.  "  To  the  weak  I 
became  as  the  weak."  Our  own  day's  march 
is  to  be  only  "  according  as  the  children  be 
able  to  endure."  Is  it  an  unheard-of  thing 
that  the  strictness  of  a  mother's  piety  has 
alienated  her  children  from  God  ?  Have 
not  the  stern  observances,  the  strict  limita- 
tions, of  her  religious  life  sometimes  been  a 
burden  heavier  than  they  could  bear  ?  Why 
should  we  condemn  what  the  Lord  hath  not 
condemned  ?  Why  should  we  put  a  yoke 
upon  the  children's  necks  which  we  ourselves 
have  not  been   able  to  endure?     The  yoke 


84  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

of  tlie  Lord  is  easy;  let  us  not  make  it  heavy. 
Let  us  beware  how  we  make  tliose  hearts  sad 
which  the  Lord  hath  not  made  sad.  AVe 
know^  that  ^'  forasmuch  as  the  children  were 
partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  lie  also  took 
part  in  the  same;"  so  let  us  partake  of  our 
children's  frailty,  becoming  one  with  them 
by  sympathy,  entering  into  all  their  hin- 
drances and  drawbacks.  The  children  are 
tender ;  if  we  overdrive  them  one  day  they 
will  die.  Let  us  lead  on  softhj  '^ until  we  come 
unto  our  Lord  unto  his  place"  (margin). 


TWENTY-FIFTH    DAY. 

"For   lliis   child  T   prayed,  and    tlie  Lord    lialli    given   me 
my  petition  Avliicli  1   asked  of  liini." — 1  Sam.  i.  '11. 

f\Y  all  the  mothers  whose  stories  are  rc- 
corded  in  the  Bible,  Hannah  is  the  near- 
est to  our  hearts.  And  of  all  the  children, 
none,  excei)t  the  holy  child  Jesus,  is  so 
lovely  as  ISanuiel,  the  typical  child  in  whom 


TWENTY-FIFTH  DAY.  85 

every  mother  sees  her  fairest  visions  person- 
ified. He  is  indeed  the  most  perfect  type 
of  the  Child  Jesus  which  we  have.  Even 
Joseph,  in  later  youth  a  most  beautiful 
type  of  Christ,  does  not  equal  Samuel  in 
childish  character,  marred  as  his  was  by  the 
natural  self-satisfaction  of  a  "good  child." 
We  never  read  of  Samuel  falling  into  sin ; 
his  guileless  heart  is  never  lifted  up  by  his 
visions ;  he  has  none  of  the  self-importance 
of  one  to  whom  a  terrible  secret  has  been 
entrusted.  We  never  learn  that  he  regretted 
the  choice  his  mother  had  made  for  him  of 
a  Nazarite's  life  with  its  peculiar  restraints, 
nor  that  he  ever  for  a  moment  questioned 
his  duty  as  to  accepting  that  choice. 

May  we  not  seek  for  the  causes  of  this 
remarkable  perfection  of  character,  endeav- 
oring: humblv  to  learn  if  in  aught  we  may 
so  imitate  this  mother's  example  as  to  hope 
for  a  like  blessing  in  our  own  children? 

We  notice  especially  Hannah's  great  long- 
in  <i  for  a  child.     Her  defrauded  mother-in- 


86  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

stiiict  cries  out  for  the  blessing,  and  will  not 
be  denied.  Here  is  none  of  that  reluctance 
to  take  up  the  duties  and  burdens  of  mother- 
hood which  we  so  often  see.  How  can  we 
doubt  that  the  child  which  has  drawn  its  life 
from  that  longing,  loving  heart,  w^ill  develop 
a  more  perfect  nature,  a  larger  soul,  expand- 
ing into  greater  beauty  of  character,  than  the 
one  which  has  been  anticipated  with  disfavor, 
its  limitations  of  the  expectant  mother's  plea- 
sures reluctantly  submitted  to,  its  demands 
upon  her  time  grudgingly  complied  with  ? 

In  the  bitterness  of  her  soul,  in  the  hunger 
of  her  heart,  Hannah  prayed  unto  the  Lord. 
kSIic  had  learned  the  comfort  of  pouring  out 
hei'  soul  before  God.  That  this  was  a  ti'uc 
rolling  of  her  burden  on  the  Lord  is  evident, 
because  after  she  had  prayed  her  prayer  aiul 
vowed  her  vow  her  countenance  was  no  more 
sad.  She  knew  the  blessedness  of  the  one 
w  I  lose  hoj»c  (he  Lord  is.  C\)ul(l  the  child 
of  such  faith  and  prayer  be  other  than  a 
child  oi'  irrace? 


TWENTY-FIFTH  DAY.  87 

Her  vow  was  no  superstitious  impulse,  in 
which  she  sought  to  propitiate  the  clemency 
of  God,  but  a  deliberate  choosing  of  the  best 
lot  for  this  so  longed-for  child.  This  is  seen 
from  her  alacrity  in  redeeming  her  vow.  At 
the  earliest  possible  age  she  brings  him  up  to 
the  house  of  the  Lord :  "I  have  lent  him  to 
the  Lord ;  as  long  as  he  liveth  he  shall  be 
lent  to  the  Lord."  What  the  extent  of  this 
sacrifice  was  only  our  hearts  can  understand 
who,  like  Hannah,  have  longed  for  a  son, 
and  have  received  him  from  the  Lord  for 
the  23etition  which  we  asked  of  him.  It  was 
no  light  thing,  this  lending  her  child  to  the 
Lord. 

But  she  had  her  reward.  First,  when  she 
knew  that  (like  the  Blessed  Child  of  whom 
he  was  a  type)  "  the  child  grew  on,  and  was 
in  favor  both  with  the  Lord  and  also  with 
men."  And  yet  more  when  *'all  Israel 
knew  that  Samuel  was  established  to  be  a 
prophet  of  the  Lord."  And  oh  the  joy  of 
knowing   that,    after   many    years   of  with- 


88  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

drawal,  "the  Lord  appeared   again   to   his 
people"  by  the  means  of  her  son! 

May  such  great  blessedness  be  ours ! 
There  is  much  for  us  to  ponder  over  in 
this  subject. 


TWENTY-SIXTH    DAY. 

"And  Jabez  was  more  hononible  than  liis  brethren;  and  his 
mother  called  his  name  Jabez  [Sorrowful],  saying,  Because  I 
bare  him  with  sorrow.  And  Jabez  called  on  the  God  of  Is- 
rael, saying,  Oh  that  thou  wouldst  bless  me  indeed,  and  en- 
large ray  coast,  and  that  tliine  hand  might  be  with  me,  and 
that  thou  wouldst  keep  me  from  evil,  that  it  may  not  grieve 
me!  And  God  granted  him  that  which  he  requested." — 1 
Chron.  iv.  9,  10. 

T)ESIDES  the  happy  mothers  who  have 
■^  received  their  little  ones  with  joyful 
thanksgiving  and  amid  glad  congratulations, 
we  find  those  whose  children  are  ushered  into 
the  world  with  sorrow.  Not  with  reluctance 
— we  should  not  so  receive  the  gift  of  God — 
but  who  can  say  wluit  darkness  of  bereave- 


TWENTY-SIXTH  DAY.  89 

ment,  what  anguish  of  soul  over  erring  loved 
ones,  what  pinching  of  penury,  may  rend  the 
heart  which  broods  over  the  little  new-born 
one  in  an  agony  of  love  and  grief?  To  such 
comes  a  word  of  good  cheer  in  the  verses  be- 
fore us.  Were  they  written  expressly  for 
sorrowing  mothers  throughout  all  time,  we 
wonder?  Why  else  are  they  here,  stand- 
ing alone  in  the  midst  of  the  dry  geneal- 
ogies, having  no  hint  of  connection  with  the 
names  which  precede  and  follow  ?  Who  was 
this  sorrowful  mother,  or  who  her  honored 
son,  we  know  not.  There  is  no  word  of 
tribe  or  family,  birthplace  or  brethren.  His 
mother  bare  him  with  sorrow.  That  is  all, 
but  it  brings  her  near  to  many  a  heart  to- 
day. 

*'And  Jabez  was  more  honorable  than  his 
brethren."  This  son  of  his  mother's  sorrow 
becomes  the  son  of  her  right  hand.  Take 
courage,  sorrowful  mother,  and  look  forward 
in  hope.  Not  always  will  the  night  of  weep- 
ing darken  over  you  and  your  child.     The 


90  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

Lord  is  leading  you  by  a  way  that  you  know 
not.  "  Thy  light  shall  rise  in  obscurity,  and 
thy  darkness  be  as  the  noonday/'  Will  you 
regret  the  trials  which  lead  to  such  honor  as 
this  f  "  The  Lord  granted  him  the  things 
which  he  requested."  Earthly  honor  you 
may  not  covet  for  your  child,  but  would  not 
such  as  this  far  outweigh  a  multitude  of  woes  ? 
For  what  were  "  the  thini::s  which  he  re- 
quested"?  "That  thine  hand  might  be 
with  me,  and  that  thou  wouldst  keep  me 
from  evil,  that  it  may  not  grieve  me."  Can 
you  ask  more  ?  You  pray  not  that  your  be- 
loved "  be  taken  out  of  the  world,"  but  that 
it  may  be  kept  from  evil.  "  That  it  may  not 
grieve  me."  You  have  known  grief,  sor- 
rowing mother ;  what  better  do  you  ask 
but  that  the  Lord  will  keep  it  from  your 
child?  Only  "let  not  your  hetu't  be  trou- 
bled." llejoice  even  in  the  mid.^t  of  afllic- 
tion  over  this  blest  gift  of  God.  You  may 
live  to  see  this  chihl  of  sorrow  become 
"more    honorable"  oven   than    its    brethren 


TWENTY-SEVENTH  DAY.  91 

sent  to  you  in  happier  clays.  "For  the 
Lord  will  again  rejoice  over  thee  for  good." 
"Eefrain  thy  voice  from  weeping  and 
thine  eyes  from  tears,  for  thy  work  shall  be 
rewarded,  saith  the  Lord.  .  .  .  And  there  is 
hope  in  thine  end,  saith  the  Lord,  that  thy 
children  shall  come  again  to  their  own  bor- 
der." 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    DAY. 

"  For  the  mountains  shall  depart  and  the  hills  be  removed, 
but  my  kindness  shall  not  depart  from  thee,  neither  sliall 
the  covenant  of  my  peace  be  removed,  saith  the  Lord  that 
liatli  mercy  on  thee." — IsA.  liv.  10. 

TTOW  firm  a  foundation  we  have  who  rest 
-^-^  our  hopes  of  salvation  upon  the  work  of 
Christ!  For  who  is  a  rock  like  our  God? 
Let  us  consider  the  terms  of  our  covenant 
of  peace  J  that  our  souls  may  be  refreshed. 
In    times    of    bodilv    weakness    we    are    in 

t/ 

especial  danger  of  losing  our  peace.  We 
examine  our  own  selves  to  see  if  we  be  in 
the  faith,  and  too  often  our  faith  fails  us  in 


92  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

that  very  exercise.  But  this  is  owing  to  our 
inadequate  views  of  Christ's  work.  Finished 
as  it  was  upon  the  cross  as  to  our  redemp- 
tion, it  yet  never  ceases  as  to  our  sanctilica- 
tion  and  as  to  our  final  perseverance.  He 
ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us.  It 
is  his  love,  not  ours,  which  secures  us.  He 
holds  us^  not  w^e  him.  Our  clinging  hands, 
grown  weak  wdth  long  self-nerving,  m.ay  lose 
their  hold  upon  our  Saviour,  yet  we  are  in 
his  arms.  He  sought  us  out  and  ransomed 
ns ;  shall  he  let  us  fall  ?  "  Can  a  woman 
forget  her  sucking  child,  that  she  should  not 
have  compassion  on  the  son  of  her  womh? 
Yea,  she  may  forget,  yet  will  I  not  forget 
thee."  Ah,  to  me  does  not  this  say  enough, 
and  more  than  enough?  It  is  imjwssible  that 
any  should  pluck  me  out  of  his  hand.  Does 
my  baby's  safety  depend  upon  its  clinging 
to  me  or  to  the  protecting  arms  about  it? 
"Therefore  will  we  not  fear,  thoudi  tlie 
earth  be  removed  and  thouuli  the  mountains 
be  carried  into  the  midst  of  the  sea."     Fear! 


TWENTY-SEVENTH  DAY.  93 

How  can  I  fear  when  once  I  have  relin- 
quished all  dependence  upon  my  oiv)i  stead- 
fastness and  depend  upon  the  faithfulness  of 
Him  that  called  me,  "  who  also  will  do  it "  ? 
Oh  let  me  take  the  comfort  of  this  covenant 
of  peace !  Peter  w^alked  on  the  water  to  go 
to  Jesus.  Did  his  faith  save  him  ?  Did  it 
not  rather  fail  him  ?  Yet  he  did  not  perish. 
For  Jesus  caught  him  by  the  hand,  saying, 
"  O  thou  of  little  faith,  wherefore  didst  thou 
doubt  ?  '^  And  shall  he  not  ever  hold  me  by 
the  hand  ? 

Take  courage,  then,  timid  heart.  He  who 
chose  thee  before  the  foundation  of  the  world 
will  still  keep  thee  after  the  mountains  de- 
part. The  covenant  of  his  peace  shall  never 
be  removed,  for  his  love  is  its  surety.  Many 
waters  cannot  quench  that  love,  neither  can 
floods  drown  it;  thine  unworthiness  shall 
not  tire  it;  thy  faithlessness  shall  not  dis- 
courage it.  "  Thou  hast  delivered  my 
soul  from  death ;  wilt  thou  not  deliver  my 
feet  from  falling  ?  "     Yes,  a  thousand  times 


94  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

yes.  ''  They  shall  never  perish  ;  my  Father 
which  gave  them  to  me  is  greater  than  I, 
and  no  man  is  able  to  pluck  them  out  of  my 
Father's  hand."  ^'  Who  shall  separate  us 
from  the  love  of  Christ?"  Shall  tribula- 
tion, or  distress,  or  persecution,  or  famine,  or 
nakedness,  or  peril,  or  sword?  Nay,  in  all 
these  things  we  are  more  than  conquerors 
through  Him  that  loved  us,  for  "  the  Lord  of 
peace  can  give  us  peace  by  all  means,"  even 
by  these  sore  afflictions.  They  all  are  means 
of  peace  to  them  who  are  embraced  in  the 
covenant  of  peace.  ''  The  Lord  is  able  to  do 
for  us  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  we 
can  ask  or  think,  according  to  the  power  [his 
2^0 wer,  not  ours]  that  worketh  in  us."  And 
we  are  persuaded  that  ^'neither  death,  nor  life, 
nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers, 
nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor 
height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature 
shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of 
God,  whicli  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 
"  Tlie  Lord  bless  thee  and  keep  tliee ;  the 


TWENTY-EIGHTH  BAT  95 

Lord  make  his  face  shine  upon  thee,  and  be 
gracious  unto  thee  ;  the  Lord  lift  up  his  coun- 
tenance upon  thee  and  ^ive  thee  peace  I  " 

"  Now  unto  Him  that  is  able  to  keep  you 
from  falling,  and  to  present  you  faultless 
before  the  presence  of  his  glory  with  ex- 
ceeding joy,  to  the  only  wise  God,  our  Sa- 
viour, be  glory,  majesty,  dominion  and  power, 
both  now  and  ever."     Amen. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    DAY. 

"  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and  it  doth  not  yet 
appear  what  we  shall  be,  but  we  know  that  when  he  shall 
appear  we  shall  be  like  him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is." — 
1  John  iii.  2. 

rpHE  contemplation  of  our  future  glory, 
-^  when  "  he  shall  change  our  vile  body, 
that  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto  his  glo- 
rious body,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or 
any  such  thing,"  is  a  rapturous  employment. 
That  we  shall  receive  the  crown  of  righteous- 
ness which  he  shall  give  to  all  them  that  love 
his  appearing — the  robe  of  fine  linen,  clean 


96  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

and  \Yliite,  Avliicli  is  tlie  righteousness  of  tlie 
saints — is  not  all ;  but  we  ourselves  shall  be 
like  him.  Oh  the  joy  unspeakable  and  full 
of  glory  which  this  thought  imparts ! 

We  know  not  what  we  shall  be.  Our 
limited  understandings  cannot  grasp  the 
wondrous  thought.  Noiu  are  we  the  sons  of 
God,  but  the  little  child  upon  our  knees, 
with  its  tiny  growth,  its  unformed  features, 
its  undeveloped  intellect,  its  unconsciousness 
of  the  great,  yearning  mother-love  which 
enfolds  it,  is  far  liker  to  the  noble  Christian 
manhood,  the  sweet,  gracious  womanhood, 
which  w^e  foresee  in  it  than  we,  in  our  best 
days,  in  the  fullest  vigor  of  our  intellects,  in 
the  most  ripened  graces  of  our  Christianhood, 
in  the  highest  flight  of  our  aspirations,  are 
like  to  the  glorious  beings  which  we  shall  be. 
To  be  like  him  !  We  should  not  have  dared 
to  ask  it.  None  but  the  beloved  discij)le 
could  have  written  the  word.  Oh,  what  to 
him  who  had  leaned  on  the  bosom  of  the 
Lord,  what  in  his  exile  and  sufferings  in  the 


TWENTY-EIGHTH  DAY.  97 

long  weary  life  wliicli  made  him  "  the  com- 
panion" of  every  suffering  one  "in  tribulation 
and  in  the  kingdom  and  j)atience  of  Christ," 
what  must  have  been  the  bliss  of  this  assu- 
rance !  He  who  had  seen  him  in  the  days 
of  his  flesh,  to  whom,  even  with  the  veil  of 
humanity  upon  his  Godhead,  he  had  been 
the  chiefest  among  ten  thousand,  the  one 
altogether  lovely — "he  should  be  like  him, 
for  he  should  see  him  as  he  is  I " 

But  we  too  shall  be  like  him.  Such  know- 
ledge is  too  wonderful  for  us,  we  cannot  at- 
tain to  it.  Yet  "  every  one  that  hath  this 
hope  in  him  purifieth  himself,  even  as  He 
is  pure."  How  can  sin  remain  in  a  heart 
which  is  fully  possessed  with  such  a  hope  as 
this.  "  Beholding,  with  open  faces  as  in  a 
glass,  the  glory  of  the  Lord,"  we  are  being 
"  changed  into  the  same  image,  from  glory 
to  glory,  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord."  But 
not  till  he  appears  shall  the  full  consum- 
mation of  the  glorious  change  take  place. 
"  When  Christ,  oiiv  life,  shall  appear,  we  also 


98  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

sliall  appear  with  liim  in  glory.  To  us,  then, 
even  now  to  live  is  Christ.  "  I  live,  yet  not 
I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me,  and  the  life  which 
I  now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  the  faith  of 
the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me  and  gave  him- 
self for  me."  Oh,  to  see  him  as  he  is !  Even 
now  a  vivid  apprehension  of  him  by  faith,  a 
sense  of  his  immediate  presence,  though  but 
transient,  lifts  us  above  all  the  cares  and 
sorrows,  obliterates  the  pains,  of  this  life, 
but  what  will  it  be  to  see  his  face  ?  O  joy 
unspeakable  and  full  of  glory  !  "  As  for  me, 
I  shall  behold  thy  face  in  righteousness.  / 
sitdll  he  satisfied  when  I  awake  with  thy 
likeness." 


TWENTY-NINTH  DAY.  99 

,!-..     TWENTY-NINTH    DAY. 

"  "f* Rejoice  in  the  Lord  always :  and  again  I  say,  Rejoice." — 
Phil.,  iv.  4. 

TT  is  strange  that  any  who  have  obtained 
^  -  Our  precious  hope  should  require  such 
an  admonition.  But  perhaps  to  none  is  it 
more  appropriate  than  to  mothers,  both  from 
the  many  causes  which  they  seem  to  have  for 
despondency  and  from  the  immediate  influ- 
ence which  their  state  of  mind  has  upon 
their  chiklren.  Do  we  feel,  as  the  time  ap- 
proaches for  us  to  resume  life's  duties  with 
its  doubled  responsibilities,  that  we  are  not 
sufficient  for  these  things?  "The  joy  of 
the  Lord  is  your  strength^\is  no  merely 
j)oetical  phrase,  but  a  living  truth.  Let  us 
prove  it,  and  learn,  as  thousands  have  learned 
before  us,  that  rejoicing  in  God  does  really 
double  our  ability  to  perform  our  duty. 
Not  that  our  duties  are  not  grave,  our  re- 
sponsibilities infinitely  solemn.  To  us  is 
committed    the    welfare    of    immortal   souls. 


100  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

How  much  depends  upon  us  we  probably- 
only  glimmeringly  perceive.  But  just  in 
proportion  as  the  desires  of  our  heart  are  for 
the  salvation  of  our  children  and  the  glory 
of  God  by  them,  so  much  the  more  should 
we  "  delight  oui^selves  in  the  Lord."  Oh,  let 
us  draw  our  children  to  him  by  the  warm 
influence  of  a  cheerful  service.  Let  them 
not,  by  seeing  in  their  mother  a  woman  of 
a  sorrowful  countenance,  learn  to  misappre- 
hend the  character  of  her  Master  and  of  his 
service.  In  dwelling  upon  this  subject  I 
cannot  refrain  from  here  rendering  a  tribute 
to  a  beloved  mother,  now  glorified,  who,  in 
the  midst  of  a  life  of  unusual  and  heavy  sor- 
rows, so  exemplified  the  grace  of  God  that 
to  her  children  the  words  "  as  sorrowful,  yet 
always  rejoicing,"  read  in  the  light  of  her 
life,  were  no  mystery,  but  the  clearest  truth. 
So  let  it  be  with  us  all.  IN  lay  we  never  need 
the  rebuke  of  Christ,  "  Forbid  not  these  little 
ones  to  come  to  mc  " !  For  it  is  possible,  even 
while  we  are  praying,  agonizing,  for  their  sal- 


TWENTY-NINTH  DAY.  101 

vation,  tliat  we  may  not  suffer  them  to  come 
to  him,  frightening  them  away  from  the  ser- 
vice which  they  see  casts  a  gloom  upon  our 
lives.     Oh,  let  us  willingly   offer   unto  the 
Lord   our   lives   and   our   constant    service. 
Let    us   commit   our   way   unto   the    Lord, 
and  our  countenance  be  no  more  sad.     Our 
strength  shall  be  as  our  day;  we  have  the 
word  of  God  and  a  happy  experience  of  past 
mercy  to  confirm  the  promise,  and  he  is  able 
to  m.ake   us  to   rejoice  even  in  tribulation. 
Yes,  to  rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad,  fbr 
great  is  our  reward  in  heaven.     Let  us  have 
more  respect  unto  the  recompense  of  reward, 
and  we  shall  no  longer  go  mourning  because 
of  the  oppression  of  the  enemy.     "  For  I  will 
strengthen  the  house   of  Judah;   I  am  the 
Lord  their   God,  and   will   hear  them,  and 
their  heart   shall  rejoice  as   through  wine, 
yea,  their  children  shall  see  it  and  be  glad, 
and  their  heart  shall  rejoice  in  the  Lord." 


102  THE  SABBATH  MONTH 


THIRTIETH    DAY. 

"And  Jesus  being  full  of  the  Holy  Gliost  returned  from 
Jordan,  and  was  led  by  the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness,  being 
forty  days  tempted  of  the  devil." — Luke  iv.  1,  2. 

A  FTER  having  received  the  baptism  of 
•^^  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  having  been  pub- 
licly acknowledged  by  a  voice  from  heaven 
as  the  Son  of  God,  the  devil  comes  to  him. 
From  the  highest  heights  to  the  deepest 
depths.  Ecstatic  communion  with  God — 
fierce  conflict  with  the  Prince  of  darkness. 
So  Elijah  after  his  triumphant  vindication 
of  the  honor  of  God  and  the  fiery  exaltation 
of  spirit  in  which  he  slew  the  prophets  of 
Baal,  descends  almost  to  the  depth  of  despair. 
He  too  spends  forty  days  in  the  wilderness 
in  a  conflict  with  the  tempter.  So  Moses, 
after  having  talked  Avilh  God  as  a  man 
talketh  with  his  friend,  is  suddenly  exposed 
to  the  fiercest  temptation  on  beholding  the 
sin  of  the  children  of  Israel,     To  each  the 


THIRTIETH  DAY,  103 

period  of  highest  privilege  is  succeeded  by 
a  time  of  stern  conflict. 

This  experience  is  in  a  degree  repeated  in 
the  lives  of  many  of  God's  children.  And 
I,  who  for  four  blessed  weeks  have  been  se- 
cluded from  the  tumults  of  the  world,  lying 
in  the  light  of  God's  countenance  under  the 
special  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  am  now 
called  to  go  down  from  the  mount  of  priv- 
ilege and  enter  upon  a  struggle  with  the 
Prince  of  this  world.  Now,  first,  from  the 
demands  upon  my  strength,  shall  I  be  sen- 
sible of  ray  weakness,  and  find  in  each  re- 
curring duty  a  fresh  temptation  to  irritabil- 
ity, to  discouragement,  to  self-indulgence,  to 
repining  at  the  weariness  of  my  lot.  The 
sweet  joys  of  maternity,  which  thus  far  have 
been  devoid  of  responsibility,  will  them- 
selves henceforth  be  mingled  with  heavy 
cares,  with  weary  nights  and  anxious  days. 
Many  a  time  I  shall  cry  in  sorrow,  "  Oh  that 
it  were  with  me  as  in  times  past ! "  "  the 
journey  is  too  great  for  me."     Then  let  me 


104  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

take  courage  from  the  example  of  Christ. 
"Beloved,  think  it  not  strange  concerning 
the  fiery  trial  which  is  to  try  you,  as  though 
some  strange  thing  happened  unto  you,  but 
rejoice,  inasmuch  as  ye  are  partakers  of 
Christ's  sufferings."  Yes,  Christ  has  known 
the  desert  and  the  tempter's  wiles.  Christ 
lias  suffered,  being  tempted  ;  he  knows  every 
fiery  dart  of  the  devil.  And  shall  he  not 
succor  us  who  are  tempted?  Shall  he  leave 
our  soul  among  lions?  Ah  no;  he  knows 
how  to  deliver  the  godly  out  of  temptation. 
He  will  keep  *'  his  darling  "  from  the  power 
of  Satan.  He  suffered  for  us,  leaving  us  an 
example,  that  we  should  follow  in  his  steps. 
Driven  by  the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness,  I 
there  shall  find  the  prints  of  his  feet.  AValk- 
ing  in  them,  I  am  safe,  for  though  tempted 
lie  did  not  fall.  The  devil  left  him,  and 
angels  came  and  ministered  unto  him.  And 
to  me  "  the  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place 
shall  be  glad  for  them,  and  the  desert  shall 
rejoice   and  blossom   as  the  rose."     I  shall 


THIRTY-FIRST  DAY.  105 

find  waters  "  break  out  in  the  wilderness  and 
streams  in  the  desert,  and  a  highway  shall 
be  there ;  it  shall  be  called  the  way  of  holi- 
ness." "  Therefore,  behold,  I  will  allure  her 
and  bring  her  into  the  wilderness,  and  speak 
comfortably  unto  her,  and  I  will  give  her 
vineyards  from  thence,  and  the  valley  of 
Achor  \i.  e.  trouble]  for  a  door  of  hope'' 
He  himself  is  the  Way,  and  he  hath  said, 
"I  will  never  leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee." 


THIKTY-FIEST    DAY. 

"  Arise  and  eat,  because  the  journey  is  too  great  for  thee." 
— 1  Kings  xix.  7. 

ELIJAH  was  sleeping  for  sorrow.  That 
mighty,  courageous  heart,  so  "  very  jeal- 
ous for  the  Lord  of  hosts,"  had  feinted. 
"  Take  away  my  life,"  he  prayed,  and  the 
Lord  answered;  an  angel  touched  him  and 
said  unto  him,  "Arise  and  eat."  He  sus- 
tains, instead  of  taking  away,  the  weary  life. 


106  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

"Tlie  journey  is  too  great  for  thee,"  says  the 
messenger  of  the  God  of  all  consolation,  and 
supplies  him  with  that  which  shall  strength- 
en him  for  the  work  before  him. 

At  the  threshold  of  our  return  to  ordinary 
life  we  take  into  account  the  duties  before  us, 
and  our  spirits  faint  within  us.  When  we 
consider  that  not  merely  former  duties,  in 
which  we  have  so  often  failed,  but  new  re- 
sponsibilities, are  to  be  assumed,  we  shrink 
in  dismay  from  the  task.  To  train  a  soul 
for  God,  to  grapple  with  the  inherent  evil 
of  its  nature  and  subdue  it,  to  nourish  gra- 
cious tendencies,  to  discern  what  sins  most 
easily  beset  it,  to  guard  it  from  the  allure- 
ments of  the  world,  to  guide  the  little  feet 
in  the  way  of  peace,  to  ^'  be  instant  in  season 
and  out  of  season,  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort 
with  all  long-suffering y^ — tliis  is  the  work 
of  an  angel,  and  not  of  a  weak,  erring  mor- 
tal wlio  has  herself  need  of  iruidance  and 
of  support.  All,  here  is  our  strength.  A\"e 
have  need  indeed,  and  our  God  supplies  all 


TIIIRTY-FmST  DAY.  107 

our  need.  "Arise  and  eat,"  he  says  unto  us. 
I,  who  in  my  tender  sympathy  know  full  well 
that  the  journey  is  too  great  for  thee,  have 
made  provision  for  all  thy  wants.  "  In  me 
all  fullness  dwells."  "  Eat,  O  friends,  drink, 
yea,  drink  abundantly,  O  beloved,"  "  for  my 
flesh  is  meat  indeed,  and  my  blood  is  drink 
indeed." 

So,  as  long  as  we  feel  our  own  insufficiency, 
we  are  safe ;  as  long  as  we  feel  our  weakness, 
we  are  strong,  for  then  we  depend  entirely 
upon  Christ.  He  gives  us  day  by  day  our 
daily  bread,  and  the  journey  need  never  be 
too  great  for  us.  Only  let  us  never  fail  to 
accept  the  provision  he  makes.  The  daily 
study  of  his  word,  daily  communion  with 
him  in  prayer,  the  hourly  lifting  up  of  our 
hearts  to  him,  the  bringing  every  care  and 
perplexity  to  his  feet,  as  well  as  the  assem- 
bling of  ourselves  together,  and  the  sacred 
eucharistic  feast, — all  are  our  meal-times,  and 
shall  each  supply  us  with  a  portion  of  strength. 
So,  feeding  by  faith  on  the  Son  of  God,  we 


108  THE  SABBATH  MONTH. 

shall  not  find  the  clifiiculties  of  the  way  too 
great  for  us,  but  in  the  strength  of  that  meat 
we  shall  go  through  all  our  pilgrimage  until 
we  come  even  unto  Horeb,  the  mount  of  God. 


THE    END. 


